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f/v-T SECOND EDITION

OF A

DISCOVERY

CONCERNING

GHOSTS:

WITH A MP AT THE "SPIRIT-RAPPERS."

BY

GEORGE ORUIKSHANK.

TO WHICH IS ADDED

A FEW PAETING EAPS AT TIE "RAPPERS,"

AAD

QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS, AND ADVICE

TO THE

DAVENPORT BROTHERS.

DEDICATED TO THE ''GHOST CLUB."

PRICE ONE SHILLING.

LONDON:

PUBLISHED BY ROIJTLEDGE, WARNE, AND EOUTLEDGE,

"l AND SOLD BY ALL BOOKSELLEKS. J

. N?V?*v7=N^-<^ — " ~~ — ' — '~<i<

• 'DV T Ss^^r"^ Hakru-d, Printer. Lokdom. "^

I THINK it a duty to inform the Public that I have a Nephew
whose Christian name is Percy. He is employed by a person of the
name of " Read," a Publisher, of Johnson's Court, Fleet Street j.
who, in Advertising any work executed by my Nephew, announces
it as by " Cruikshanh," instead of (as it ought to be) illustrated by
" Percy Crtjikshank." And having been informed by numerous
persons that they have purchased these publications under the im-
pression that they were works executed by me, I hereby caution the
Public against buying any work as mine with the name of READ,
of Johnson's Court, upon it as Pubhsher. I never did anything for
that person, and never shall ; and I beg the Public to understand that
these observations are not directed against my Nephew, to whom I
wish every good, but that they are against the said Read, who, by
leaving out ray Nephew's Christian name, Percy, deprives him of
whatever credit he may deserve for his literary and artistic produc-
tions, and thereby creating a confusion of persons, which, if not done
for the purpose of Deceiving the Public, appears to be very much
like it.

A DISCOVERY CONCERNING GHOSTS.

"Enter Ghost."
Hamlet. — " Thou com'st in such a questionable shape." —

Shaeespeaee,

Questionable ! — ay ; so veiij questionable, in my opinion, is tlie fact of their
coming at all, that I am now going to question whether they ever did, or
can come. This opinion I know is opposed to a very general, a long-esta-
blished, and with some a deeply-rooted belief in supernatural appearances,
and is opposed to what may be almod considered as well-authenticated facts,
which neither the repeated exposure of very many " ghost tricks," and
clearly-proved imposture, nor sound philosophical arguments, have been able
to set aside altogether. Most persons, therefore, will no doubt consider that
the task of "laying" all the ghosts that have appeared, and putting a stop
to any others ever making an appearance, is a most difiB.cult task. This is
granted ; and although I do not believe, Hke Owen Glendower, that I can
" call the spmts from the vasty deep," but on the contrary agree in this
respect with Hotspur, if I did call that they would not come, I nevertheless,

X- B

2 A DISCOVERY CONCERNING GHOSTS.

although no conjuror, do conjure up for the occasion hosts of ghosts which
I see I have to contend against. Yes, I do see before me, " in my mind's
eye "—

A vast army, composed of ghost, goblin, and sprite !

With their eyes full of fire, all gleaming with spite !

All lurking about in the " dead of the night "

With their faces so pale and their shrouds all so white !

Or hiding about in dark holes and corners,

To fright grown-up folk, or little " Jack Homers."

But though they all stand in this fierce grim array.

Armed with pen and with pencil, " I'll drive them away."

It is not only, however, against these horrible and ghastly-looking cloud
of flimsy foes that one has to deal with in a questien like this, but there are
numbei's of respectable and respected authors, and highly respectable wit-
nesses, on the side of the ghosts ; and it must be admitted that it is no easy
matter to put aside the testimony of all these respectable persons. They
may have thought, and some may still think, that they have done, and are
doing, good, by supporting this belief ; but I Inioiv on the contrary that they
have done, and are doing, great harm ; and I, therefore, stand forth in the
hope of " laying " all the ghosts, and settling this long-disputed question
for ever.

The belief in ghost, or apparition, is of course of very early date, originating
in what are called the " dark ages," and darlc indeed those ages were ! as a
reference to the early history of the world will show ; and although we have
in these days a large diflfusion of the blessed light of intelligence, nevertheless
there is still existing, even amongst civilized people, a fearful amount of
ignorance upon tlie subject of Ghosts, Witchcraft, Fortune-telling, and
" Ruling the Stars," besides a vast amount of this sort of imaginary and
mischievous nonsense. Now it will bo as well here to inquire what good
has ever resulted from this belief in what is commonly understood to be a
ghost ? Ifone that I have ever heard of, and I have been familiar with all
the popular ghost stories from boyhood, and have of late waded through
almost all the works produced in support of this spiritual visiting theory,
but in no one instance have I discovered where any beneficial result has
followed from the supernatural or rather unnatural supposed appearances ;
whereas, on the other hand, we do find unfortunately a large and serious
amount of suffering and injury arising from tliis belief in ghosts, and which
I shall have occasion to refer to further on ; but I will now proceed to bring
forward some of the evidences which have been adduced from time to time,
all pretty much in the same style, in support of tlie probability and truth of
the appearance of ghosts— first, in fact, to call up the ghosts, in order that I
may put them down.

All the ghost story tellei's, or writers upon this subject, seem to consider
that one most important point in the appearance of apparitions is, that the
ghost should be a most perfect and EXACT RESEMBLANCE, in every
RESPECT, to the deceased person — the spirit of whom they are supposed to
be. Then* faces appear the same, except in some cases whei*e it is described
as being rather paler than when they were alive, and the general expression

A DISCOVERT CONCERlflNCT GHOSTP. S

is described as "more in sorrow than in anger," but this varies in some
instances according to circumstances ; but in all these appearances the coun-
tenances are so precisely similar, so minutely so, that in one case mentioned
by Mrs. Crowe in her " Night-side of Nature," the very " pock-pits " or
"pock-marks" on the face were distinctly visible. The narrators also all
agree that the spirits appear in similar, or the same dresses which they
were accustomed to wear during their lifetime (please to observe that this
is very important), so exactly alike that the ghost-seer could not possibly
be mistaken as to the identity of the individual, in face, figure, manner, and
dress ; and on the same authority in some cases the sayne spirit has appeared
at the same moynent to different persons in different places, although perhaps
15,000 miles apart, in precisely the same dress.

In referring to the play of "Hamlet," it will be found that Shakespeare
has been inost particular in describing the general appearance of the Ghost
of Hamlet's father, who was

"Doomed for a certain time to walk by nigbt."

For instance, when Marcellus says to Horatio,

"Is it not like the king?"
Horatio replies —

" As thou art to thyself :
Such was the very arraour he had on.
When he the ambitious Norway combated ;
So frownhl he once, when, in angry parle,
He smote the sledded Polack on the ice."

Horatio also, in describing the Ghost to Hamlet, says —

" A figure like your father.
Armed at all points, exactly, cap-a-pe'.^'

And, in further explanation, it is stated that the Ghost was armed " from
top to toe," "from head to foot," that "he wore his beaver up," with
" a countenance more in sorrow than in anger," and was " very pale." Then,
again, when Hamlet sees his father's spirit, he exclaims —

" What may this mean,
That thou, dead corse, again, in complete steel,
Revisit'st thus the glimpses of the moon."

So also in the play of "Macbeth,'' when the Ghost of Banquo rises, and
takes a seat at the table, Macbeth says to the apparition—

" Never shake
Thy Qory locks at me."

And further on he says— -

" Thou hast no speculation in those eyes
Which thou dost glare with !"

Daniel de Foe also insists upon, and goes into the mosy^-iinute details as to
the person and dress of a Ghost j and in a work which he published upon

4 A DISCOVERY CONCERNING GHOSTS.

apparitions,* we may see how careful and circamstantial the author is in
his descriptions of apparitions, whose appearance he vouches for in his
peculiar narrative and matter-of-fact style. One of these ghost stories is
of some robbers who broke into a mansion in the country, and whilst ran-
sacking one of the chambers, they saw, sitting in a chair, " a grave, ancient
man, with a long fall-bottomed wig and a rich brocaded gown," etc. One
of the robbers threatened to tear off his "rich brocaded gown;" another
hit at him with a fuzee, and was instantly alarmed at finding it passed
through ail' ; and then the old gentleman " changed into the most horrible
monster that ever was seen, with eyes like two fiery daggers red hot."
They then rushed into another room, and found the same " grave, ancient
man" seated there ! and so also in another chamber ; and he was seen by
different robbers in tliree different rooms at the same moment ! Just at this
time the servants, who were at the top of the house, threw some " hand
grenades" down the chimneys of these rooms. The result altogether was
that some of the thieves were badly wounded, the others driven away, and
the mansion saved from being plundered. What a capital thing it would be
surely, if the police could attach some of these spirits to their force !

Another case, a clergyman (the Rev. Dr. Scot) was seated in his library,
vjith the door closed, when he suddenly saw " an ancient, grave gentleman, in
a black ■velvet gown" — very pai"ticular, you observe, as to the material — " and
a long wig." This ghost was an entire stranger to Dr. Scot, and came to
ask the doctor to do him a favour — asking a favour under such circum-
stances of course amounts to a command — Avliich was to go to another part
of the country, to a house where the ghost's son resided, and point out to
the son the place where an important family document was deposited.
Dr. Scot complied with this request, and the family property was secured
to the son of the ghost in the "black velvet gown and the long wig."

Now one naturally asks here, why did not this old ghost go and point
the place out to his son himself? And so also with the iceU-anthenticated
story of the ghost of Sir George Yillars, who wanted to give a warning to
his son, the Duke of Buckingham ; which warning, if properly delivered
and properly acted upon, might have saved the duke's life ; but instead of
warning his son himself (take notice), he appeared to one of the duke's
domestics, "i/i the very clothes he used <o wcor," and commissioned him to
deliver the message. After all, this warning was of no use, so this ghost
might have saved himself the trouble of coming ; but sjjirits are indeed
strange things, and of course act in strange ways.

About the year 1700, a translation from a French book was brought out
in London, entitled "Drelincom-t on Death ;" and after it had been published
for some time, Daniel Defoe, at the request of Mr. Midwinter, the publisher,
wrote a preface to the work, and therein introduced a short stor}' about
the ghost of a lad}' appearing to her friend. It was headed thus : — " A true
Relation of the Apparition of Mrs. Veal, next day after her death, to one

* " An Essay on the History and Reality of Apparitions ; being an account of what they
are and what they are not, when they come and when they come not ; as also how we may
distinguish between Apparitions of Good and Evil Spirits, and how wc ought to behave to
them ; with a variety of surprising and diverting ^samples never published before."
London, 1727.

A DISCOVERY CONCERNING GHOSTS. 5

Mrs, Bargrave, at Canterbury, on the Stli of September, 1705 ; which
Apparition recommends the perusal of Drelincourt's book of Consolation
against the Fears of Death. (Thirteenth edition.)"

Mrs. Veal and Mrs. Bargrave, it appears, were intimate friends. One day
at twelve o'clock at noon, when Mrs. B. was sitting alone, Mrs. Veal entered
the room, dressed in a "riding habit," hat, etc., as if going a journey. Mrs.
Bargrave advanced to welcome her friend, and was going to salute her, and
their lips almost touched, but Mrs. V. held back her head and passing her
hand before her face, said, " I am not very Avell to-day;" and avoided the
salute. In the course of a long talk which they had, Mrs. Veal strongly
recommends Drelincourfs Boole on Death to JKrs. Bargrave, and occasionally
" claps her hand upon her hiee, in great earnestness." Mrs. Veal had been
subject to fits, and she asks if Mrs. Bargrave does not think she is " mightily
impaired by her fits ?" Mrs. B.'s reply was, "No ! I think you look as well
as ever I knew you;" and during the conversation she took hold of Mrs. VeaVs
gown several times, and commended it. Mrs. V. told her it was a " scoured
silk" and newly made up. Mrs. Veal at length took her departure, but
stood at the street door some short time, in the face of the beast market ;
this was Saturday the market-day. She then went from Mrs. B., who saw
her walk in her view, till a turning interrupted the sight of her ; this was
three quarters after one o'clock. Mrs. Veal had died that very day at noon ! ! !
at Dover, which is about twenty miles from Canterbury.

Some surprise was expressed to Mrs. Bargrave, about the fact of her
feeling the gown, but she said she was qtdte sure that she felt the gown. It
was a striped silk, and Mrs. Veal had never been seen in such a dress ; but
such a one was found in her wardrobe after her decease.

This story made a great sensation at the time it was published ; and
" Drelincourt on Death," with the Preface and Defoe's tale, became exceed-
ingly popular.*

The absurdities and impossibilities of the foregoing narrative of this
apparition of Mrs. Veal need not be pointed out ; but the story is introduced
here for two reasons ; one of which will be explained further on, and the

* Tho introduction runs thus : — " This relation is a matter of fact, and attended with such
circumstances as may induce any reasonable man to believe it. It was sent by a gentleman,
a justice of peace, in Matdsto'E in Kekt, and a very intelligent person, to his friend in
London, as it is here worded ; which discourse is attested by a sober and understanding
gentlewoman, a kinswoman of the said gentleman's, who lives at Canteebtjet within a few
doors of the house in which the within-named Mrs. Bargrave lives ; who believes his kins-
woman to be of so discerning a spirit as not to be put upon by fallacy, and who positively
assured him that the whole matter as related and laid down is really true ; and what she
herself had in the same words (as near as may be) from Mrs. Bargrave's own mouth ; who
she knows had no reason to invent and publish such a story ; or design to forge and tell a lie,
being a woman of much honesty and virtue, and her whole life a course as it were of piety.
The use wliich we ought to make of it is, that there is a life to come after this, and a just
GOD, who will retribute to every one according to the deeds done in the body, and therefore
to reflect upon our past course of life we have lead in the world — that our time is short and
uncertain ; if we would escape the punishment of the ungodly and receive the reward of
the righteous, which is the laying hold of eternal life, we ought for the time to come to
turn to GOD, by a speedy repentance, ceasing to do evil and learning to do well, to seek
after GOD early, if haply he may be found of us, and lead such lives for the future as may
be well pleasing in his sight."

6 A DISCOVERY CONCEBXDi'G GHOSTS.

other is to show how the public have been imposed upon with these short
stories.

It has all along boon known to the literary world that this " true
Relation" was a falsehood, and brought forward under the following cir-
cumstances : —

Mr. Midwinter, who published the translation of " Drelincourt on Death,"
finding that the work did not sell, complained of this to Defoe, and asked him
if he could not write some preface or introduction to the work for the purpose
of calling the attention of the public to this rather uninviting subject.
Defoe undertook to do so, and produced this story about the ghost of Mrs.
Veal. The gullibility of the public was much greater at that time than now,
and they would then swallow anything in the shape of a ghost ; a great
sensation was created, and the publisher's purpose was answered, as the
work had an extraordinary sale ; but one cannot help expressing a very
deep regret that the author of " Robinson Crusoe" should have so degraded
his talent, by thus deliberately foisting upon the public a gross and mis-
chievous falsehood as a veritable ti-uth ; and, worse than this, guilty of
bringing in the most sacred names upon one of the most solemn subjects
which the mind of man can contemplate, for the purpose of supporting and
propagating a falsehood for a mercenary purpose.

As the belief in ghosts has long been popular, and considered as an
established fact, it may be quite allowable for an author to introduce a ghost
into his romance ; and it may be argued that authors have thus been enabled
" to point a moral" as well as to " adorn a tale," by using this poetical license,
or spiritual medium ; but in these cases the tales or poems were given out to
the world as inventions of the author to amuse the public, or to convey a
moral lesson, and were accepted by the public as such.

We find in these foregoing examples that apparitions do appear sometimes
to strangers, and sometimes in the dresses in which they had not been seen
when alive ; but these dresses have been afterwards discovered or accounted
for, and it has also been discovered who these stramje, spirits repre-
sented. But it will be seen by the cases cited, and others which are to follow,
that this EXACT appearance, this Vraiscmhlamc is es<ienfiaJ, nay, Indispensable,
in order that there shall be "no mistake ;" for should mistakes be made, it
would, in some cases, be perhaps a very serious matter. I fully assent to all
this, and to show that I wish to do battle in all fairness, that it shall bo a
" fair fight and no favour," I am willing even to illustrate my opponents'
statements in these particulars, and to do this I here introduce— don't start,
reader ! not a ghost, but a figure of Napoleon the First, but without a head ;
not that I mean to imply thereby that this military hero had no head. No,
no ! quite the contrary, but I have omitted this head and the head of the
ghost of Hamlet's father for an especial purpose, as will be explained further
on, when I shall have occasion to touch upon these heads again. But if this
cut is held at a distance, by any one at all familiar with the portraits or
statues of " Napoleon le Grand" in this costume, they will at once recognize
who the figure is intended to represent.

Let us now turn to " The Night-side of Nature," and through .the dismal
gloom which surrounds these apparitions, caU up some more spirits, who,
according to Mrs. Crowe, and, indeed, on the authority of all other

A DISCOVERY OONCEENING GHOSTS. 7

authors who support the ghost doctrine, " generally come in their habits as
they lived ;" and it appears that there is no difference in this i-espect between
the beggar and the king, for they come

" Some in rags, and some in jags, and some in silken gowns."

.At page 289 of this exceedingly cleverly written but most ghastly
collection of ghost stories, it is related that the ghost of a beggar-man
appeared at the same time in two different apartments (all in his dirty
rags, of course), to a young man and a young woman who had allowed
this beggar to sleep in their master's barn (unbeknown to their master),
where he died in the night, but could not rest after his death until some

money of his was found by these young people, who had both suffered
in their health in consequence of these visits of the beggar's ghost. They
at length consulted and explained all this to a priest, who advised them
to distribute the money they had found under the straw (where the beggar
had slept and died) between threp, churches, which advice was accordingly
acted upon, and this settled the business, for the dirti/ ragged ghost never
troubled them again.

In contrast to this we have the story of the ghost of a lady of title, who
had been in her lifetime Princess Anna of Saxony. She came decked out
in "silks, and satins," gold lace, embroidery, and jewels, all so grand, and
appeared to one of the descendants of her family, Duke Christian of Saxe
Eisenburg, requesting him to be so kind as to try and " make it up " be-

8 A DISCOVERY CONCERNING GHOSTS.

tween her and her ghost husband, who, it seems, was a bad-tempered mau,
had quarrelled with her, and had died without being reconciled.

Duke Christian consented to do this. She had walked into the duke's
presence, although all the doors were shut, and one day after their first
interview she brought her husband to their relative in the same uncere-
monious manner. Her ghost husband, who had been the Duke Casimer,
appeared dressed in his royal robes. They each told their story (these, you
will observe were talking ghosts as well as stalJcinrj ghosts). Duke Christian
most gallantly decided in favour of the lady, and the ghost duke very
properly acquiesced in the justice of the decision. Duke Christian then
took the "icy cold hand" of the ghost-duke and placed it in the hand of the
ghost- wife, whose hand felt of a " natural heat." It appears to be the opinion
of the advocates of apparitions that naurjldij ghosts have cold hands. In this
case the husband was the offending party, and was very naughty, and there-
fore his hands were very cold. It seems strange that his hands should
have been cold, for, being naughty, one would suppose he would come from
the same place that Hamlet's father did ; and from what he said we should
conclude that there was a roaring fire there, where the duke might have
tvarnwd his cold hands. It further appears that these parties all ^'prayed and
sung together!" after which the now happy ghosts disappeared sans cere-
tnonie, without troubling the servants to open the doors, or allowing Duke
Christian to " show them out." One remarkable fact in connection with
this story is, that, upon referring to the portraits of these ghosts which hung
in the castle, was, that they had appeared in exactly the same dresses which
they had on, when these portraits were painted — one hundred years before
this time.

Duke Christian died two years after the ghosts' visits, and by his own
orders was buried in " quicklime," to prevent, it is supposed, his ghost from
walking the earth ! He must indeed have been a poor ignorant creature,
although a duke, to suppose that " quicklime," or " slow lime," or any other
kind of lime, or anything else that would destroy the body, could make any
difference with respect to the appearance of the spirit.

The next case, then, is of the ghost of a soldier's wife, who appeared to a

" Corporal Q " who was lying ill in bed, and also to a comrade who was

an invalid lying in the next bed. This was in the night, but the cor-
poral could see that she was dressed in a " flannel gown, edged with a black
ribbon," exactly like the grave-clothes which he had helped to put on her
twelve months before. It appears, however, that he could see through hei;
flannel goivn and all. This female ghost came to the bed-side of the sick man
to ask him to write to her husband, who was in Ireland, to communicate
something to him which was to be kept a "profound secret,"

This is certainly a strange story, but is it not still more strange that this
ghost did not go to her husband and tell him the important secret herself,
instead of trusting a stranger to do so ? It Avill be observed that there are
different classes of ghosts, as there are of living people — the princely, the
aristocratic, the genteel, and the common. The vulgar classes delight to
haunt in graveyards, dreary lanes, ruins, and all sorts of dirty dark holes
and corners, and in cellars. Yes, dark cellars seem to be a favourite abode
of these common ghosts. This fact raises the question whether the lower

A DISCOVERY COXCERNING GHOSTS, 9

class of spirits are obliged to keep to the lower parts of the house — to the
" lower regions " — and are not allowed to go into the parlours or the drawing-
rooms, and not allowed to mix with the higher order of ghosts ! Can this
be a law or regulation amongst the ghosts ? If so, is it not most extraordi-
nary that these spirits should not be allowed to choose their own place of
residence, and take to the most comfortable apartments, instead of grovelling
amongst the rats and mice, the slugs, the crickets, and the blackbeetles ?
'Tis strange, 'tis passing strange ; but so it appears to be. By the by, some few
of these poor spirits of the humble class of ghosts do sometimes, it appears,
mount up to the bed-rooms, in the hope, I suppose, of getting occasionally
now and then a " comfortaUe lodging" and a " good night's rest."

At page 310 of this same work we have an account of a haunted cellar in a

gentleman's house, out of town, in which were heard " loud knockings," " a
voice crying," " heavy feet walking," etc. The old butler, with his " acolytes,"
descended to the cellar (wine cellar) armed with sword, blunderbuss, and
other oflTensive weapons, but the ghosts put them all to flight, and they
" turned tail " in a fright. Yes, they all ran up-stairs again, followed by the
" sovMd of feet " and " a visible shadow .'" This, of course, is a fact ; and it so
happens that I know another fact about a haunted wine-cellar, which, how-
ever, had quite a different result to the foregoing.

In a wine-cellar of a gentleman's house, somewhere near Blackheath, it
was found that strange noises were sometimes heard in the evenings and in
the night time, in this "wine vault," similar to those described above, such
as knoching, fjroaninij, footsteps, etc., so that the servants were afraid to go into
the cellar, particularly at a late hour. The master at length determined to

10 A DISCOVERY CONCBRXING GHOSTS.

"lay" this ghost, if possible, and one evening when these noises had been
heard, arming himself with a sword, and the servants with a fowling-piece
and a poker, they cautiously descended into the cellar (with lighted candles,
of course). Nothing was to be seen there, and all was quiet except a strange,
smothered kind of sound, like the hard breathing of an animal, something
like snoring, that seemed to proceed out of the earth in one of the dark
corners of the vault, when, lo and behold ! in turning their lights in the
tlirection from which the sounds came, and advancing carefully, they dis-
covered— what do you think ? Don't be alarmed. Why, the ghost lying on
the ground, dead — drunk ! Yes, the ghost had laid himself, not with " Bell,
Book, and Candle," but by swallowing the spirit of alcohol, the spirit of
wine, beer, and brand}-. Most disgraceful ; in fact, this ghost had taken a
"drop too rtiiirh."

Upon looking a little closer, they found that this ghost was one Tom
Brown, an under-gardener ; and it Avas discovered that he had tunnelled a
hole from the " tool-house" thi-ough the wall into the cellar. This spirit was
so over-charged with spirit, that he %vns unable to vxdl-., so was doomed to be
carried in a cart to the " cage -y^' and all the people livong round about came
next moraing to look at the ghost that had been haunting the squire's wine
cellar. Oh ! what Vk fortune it would be to any one who could catch a ghost
— a real, right down, '"arnest" ghost, and put him in a cage to show him
round the country ! I wish I had one.* It would cost little or nothing to
keep such a thing ; only the lodging, as he would require neither food, fire,
clothing, nor washing !

At page 118, we find an account of an apparition appearing to a gentleman,
who was staying at a friend's house at Sarratt, in Hertfordshire, and was
awoke in the middle of the night by a pressure on his feet, and, looking up,
saw, by the light that was burning in the fire-place, a " well-dressed gentle-
man," in a " hlne coat and bright gilt buttons," leftnicg on the foot of the bed,
vitJiout a head ! It appears that this was reported to be the ghost of a poor
gentleifian of that neighbourhood who had been murdered, and whose bead
had been cut off! ^nd could therefore only be recognized by his " Ihts coat
and bright gilt buttons."

Under any real circumstance this would indeed be too horrible and too
serious a subject to turn into ridicule ; but in this case, such an evident false-
hood, it is surely allowable to " lay" such a ghost as this, such a senseless ghost,
in any possible way ; in fact, to laugh such a ghost out of countenance —

I, therefore, with my rod of double H. blacklead,

Hold up to scorn this well-di-essed ghost without a head.

Any one looking at this figure will clearly see that he does not belong to
thi.-i ivorld, and has therefore no business here ; for, although there may be
some persons in this world who, pei-haps, go about with a very small allowance
of hrain, yet every body here must have some sort of a head upon his shoulders,

* Some few years back, a ghost was said to have been seen frequently in the neighbour-
hood of some Eoman CathoUc institution near Leicester, and upon one occasion had nearly
frightened a young woman to death. I was staying with a friend at Leicester at the time,
and offered £100 reward to any one who would show me the ghost, as I wanted very much
to make a sketch of it, but I could not get a eight of it for love nor money.

A DISCOVERT CONCERNINCt GHOSTS.

11

no matter how handsome, or queer-looking it may be. Now I am sorry to
be rude to any " well-dressed gentleman," or, indeed, to any hody or soul ; but
as it appears (from the stoiy) that this ghost had really no real bicslness upon
earth, what " on earth " does he come here for? Why, for no other object,
it appears, but to " show himself off;" so, in my opinion, the sooner he " walks
oif " the better. By the by, perhaps we ought not to be too severe upon the
poor fellow, for, upon consideration, he is placed in rather an awkward
position, as his head may be on the look out for the hodij, and know where it
is, but having no legs it cannot get to the body. On the other hand, although
the hodij has legs and could walk to the head, yet, having no eyes, cannot see
where the head is ; so some excuse may be made upon this head, particularly
if he is not a talhhuj ghost.

There is a story, somewhere in the Roman Catholic chronicles, of a
martyr, who, after being beheaded, picked up his head, and walked away
with it under his ai*m ; but our ghost here, in the " blue coat and bright gilb
buttons," is not allowed to do this sort of thing, and the question naturally
arises, what has become of, or where is the spirit of this unfortunate
gentleman's head ? Can the believers in ghosts tell us that ? and surely we
shall all feel obliged if they can inform us whether the apparitions of all
decapitated persons appear vithout their heads ; and, if not, what becomes of
their heads ? and, farther, whether the mutilation of the hodi/ can in any way
affect the spirit — the soul ?

I shall not in this case " pause for a reply," because I know I shall have
a very long time to wait for an answer ; but in proceeding to bring to the light
of day some more facts about ghosts from the darh side of nature, I feel as if

12 A DISCOVERT OONCEENING GHOSTS.

some inquisitive spirit was irresistibly compelling me to put questions as I
go on writing ; and therefore, under these circumstances, present my com-
pliments to those persons who know about ghosts, and the various authors
who support this belief, and I shall feel greatly obliged if they will answer
my queries at their earliest convenience. — N.B. Shall be glad to hear tho
replies from the ghosts themselves, provided they pay the postage.

In the first place, then, from the authority quoted above, it appears that a
widow lady had, sti-ange to say, married a second time ! and that the ghost
of her first husband paid her " constant visits." Query, What did the ghost
come for, and was the second husband at all jealous of his coming ? With
respect to a celebrated actor, who had mamed a second wife, we find that the
apparition of his first wife appeared to him, and which appearance unfortunately
threw him into a fit, and at the same moment this ghost appeared to the
second wife, although they were several hundred miles apart at the time. I
can understand why the ghost of his first wife came to \'isit liim who once
was hers, that is, because he was such a great actor, and such a good fellow ;
but why did it appear to the second wife ? and how is it that the same spirit
can appear in several jdnces at the same instant ? I should like to know that.
At page 274 we find a dog frightened at the ghost of a soldier ! But this is not
the only "unlucky dog" that has been terrified by appaintions ; several
instances are given in difierent works. Query, How do the " poor dogs "
know a ghost is a ghost when they see one, particularly as they appear in the
same dresses which they had on when " in the flesh ;" and even, suppose they
know that they are in the presence of a ghost, what makes them " turn tail ?"
Yes, why should a r?o_'/, especially if he is a sj)irited dog, do so ? for almost in
the same page we are told of a horse who recognized his old master, Avho
appeared in the same dress he wore when alive, a " sky-blue coat." This
horse did not " turn tail." No ! but followed the phantom of his dear old
master, who was walking about the farm, and no doubt Avanted to give hiiu
a ride. Query, If a horse is not frightened at a ghost, why should dogs be
frightened at the sight of them ? And also, if a goose would be frightened if
it saw a ghost ? Asses, we know, are sometimes frightened at nothing, and
as a ghost is "next to nothing," they must of course be frightened at ghosts.
At page 459 we are told of the ghost of a " horse and cart," and also of tho
" ghosts of sheep." If this be so, doubtless there must likewise be tho
ghosts of dogs (what " droll dogs " they must be), also of puppies, and asses.

What an interesting subject of inquiry is this for the zoologist !

We find, as we dive into the dark mysteries of apparitions, that there
are ghosts of all sorts and sizes, and that there are even lame ghosts, as is
proved by the following true tale of the apparition of an officer in India,
as related by several of his brother officers, whose words dare not be

doubted: — One Major R , who was presumed to be of about fifty or

sixty years of age, was with some young officers, proceeding up a river
in a bai'ge ; and as they came to a considerable bend in the river, the
major and the other officers went ashore, in order to cross the neck of
land, taking theii* fowling-pieces and powder and shot with them, in the
hopes of meeting some game ; and they also took something to refresh
themselves on the road. At one pai't of their journey they took their
" tiffing," and after this they had to jump across a ditch, which the young

A DISCOVERY CONCEEDTING GHOSTS.

13

officers cleared, but the major "jumped short." He told his corapanions to
march on, and he would follow after he had di'ied and put himself a little
in marching order. They saw him lay down his fowling-piece and his hat,
and they moved on. After marching some time, they came in sight of the
barge, and were wondering why the major did not follow, when, on a sudden,
they were surprised to see him (the major) at some distance from them
making towards the barge, " without his hat or gun," liiiqniig hastily along
in his fojj boots, and he did not appear to observe them. When they arrived
at the barge, he was not there. They returned to the spet where they had
left him, and found his hat and his fowling-piece, and with the assistance of
some natives they discovered the body of the major in a pit dug for trapping
wild animals !

I defer asking any questions upon the foregoing for the present, for a
reason, but as the next case related is that of the ghost of a young man who
had been di'OAvned, and the poor old mother saw her son. " dripping with
water," we may surely inquire here if there is or can be such a wonderful
sight as an apparition of "dripping water!" or ghosts of tears! for we
find at page 387 an account of a iveepincj ghost, who let his tears fall on the
face of a female, who " often felt the tears on her cheel; Icij cold, hut hum
afterurirds, and leave « blue marlc .'" And on the same authority we find that
there is the ghost of dirt, for the ghost of the old beggar-man was " dirty."
And then if the ghost of a chimney-sweep were to
appear — and why not the spu'it of a sweep as well as

anybody else ? But if he came, he must also appear

" in his habits as he lived." In that case there must
be the ghost of soot! Thus there are not only the

apparitions of fluids, and dust and dirt, but also of hard

substances, as in the case of a ghost who was seen in a

garden with the ghost of a " sixide in his hand !"

And not only have we, then, ghosts of all these

matters, but also a ghost of the " rustling of sill:,'"

"crealcinc/ of shoes," and '^sounds of footsteps," many

instances of which will be found in "Footfalls on

the Boundary of another "World," by Robert Dale

Owen, a work most elaborately compiled, and sin-
cerely do I wish that such talent and such research

had been engaged and directed to illustrate and assist

Avith lifjld, instead of darkness, the present progressive

state of society, instead of strivino- and endeavouring,

as it does, to drive us back into the " outer darkness"

of the ignorance of the " dark ages," to endeavour to support and to bring

back the mind of man to a belief in the visits of ghosts, of necromancy,

bewitching, and all the " black arts ;" all of Avliich it was hoped, in the

progress of time, Avould ultimately be swept away from the face of the earth,

by pure and sound Christian religion, education and science, all of which go

clearly to prove that " black arts" are matters contraiy to the natural laws

of the ci'eation and the laws of God,

In one of the tales brought forward by this author is an account of the

haunting of an old manor-house near Leigh, in Kent, called Kamhurst, where

14 A DISCOVERT CONCERNING GHOSTS.

there was heard " knockings and sounds of footsteps," more especially voices
•which could not be accounted for, usually in an unoccupied room ; " some-
times as if talking in a loud tone, sometimes as if reading aloud, occasionally
screaming." The servants never saw anything, but the cook told her
misti'ess that on one occasion, in broad daylight, hearing the riistUnfj of a
silk dress behind her, and which seemed to touch her, she turned suddenly
round, supposing it to be her mistress, but to her great surprise and terror
could not see anybody.

Mr. Owen is so thoroughly master of this spirit subject that he must be
able to tell us all about this " rustling" of the " silk dresses" of ghosts, and
surely every one will be curious to learn the seci'et of such a curious fact.

The lady of the house, a Mrs. R , drove over one day to the railway

station at Tunbridge to fetch a young lady friend who was coming to stay

with her for some weeks. This was a Miss S , who " had been in the

habit of seeing apparitions from early childhood," and when, upon their

return, they drove up to the entrance of the manor-house, Miss S

perceived on the threshold the appearance of two figui-es, apparently an
elderly couple, hahited in the costume of the time of Queen Anne. They appeai'ed

as if standing on the gi'ound. Miss S saw the same apparition several

times after this, and held conversations with them, and they told her that
they were husband and wife, and that their name was " Children ;" and she

informed the lady of the house, Mrs. R , of what she had seen and heard ;

and as Mrs. R was dressing hurriedly one day for dinner, " and not dream-
ing of anything spiritual, as she hastily turned to leave her bed-chamber, there,

in the doorway, stood the same female figure Miss S had described !

identical in appearance and costume — even to the old * point-lace ' on her
' brocaded silk dress ' — while beside her, on the left, but less distinctly
visible, was the figure of the old squire, her husband ; they uttered no sound,
but above the figure of the lady, as if written in phosphoric light in the
dusk atmosphere that surrounded her, were the words, * Dame Children,'
together with some other words intimating that having never aspired beyond
the joys and sorrows of this world, she had remained ' earth hound.' These

last, however, Mrs. R scarcely paused to decipher, as her brother (who

was very hungry) called out to know if they were ' going to have any
dinner that day ? ' " Thei"e was no time for hesitation ; " she closed her eyes,
rushed through the apparition and into the dining-room, tlu-owing up her

hands, and exclaiming to Miss S , ' Oh, my dear, I've walked through

Mrs. Childi-en!'" Only think of that, "gentle reader!" Only think of

Mrs. R walking riffht throtigh " Dame Children " — " old point-lace,

brocaded silk di'ess," and all — and as old "Squire Children" was standing

by the side of his " dame," Mrs. R must either have upset the old

ghost or have walked thi'ough him also.

Although this story looks very much like as if it were intended as fun
additional chapter to " Joe ^Miller's Jest-book," the reader wiU please to
observe that Mr. Owen does not relate this as a joke, but, on the contrary-,
expects that it will be receiAxd as a solemn serious fact ; there was a cause for
the haunting of this old manor-house, with the talking, screaming, and rustling
of silk, and the appearance of the old-fashioned ghosts ; there was a secret
which these ghosts wished to impart to the persons in the house at that

A DISCOVBEY CONCERNINa GHOSTS. 15

time, and if the gentleman reader will brace np his nerves, and the lady-
reader will get her " smelling-bottle " ready, I'll let them into the secret.
N'ow, pray, dear madam, don't be terrified ! Squu'e Children had formerly
been proprietor of the mansion, and he and his " dame " had taken great
delight and interest in the house— when alive — and they were very sorry to
find that the property had gone out of the family, and he and his dame had

come on purpose to let Mrs. R and her friend know all this ! There

now, there's a secret for you — what do you think of that ?

In the year 1854, a baron (of the rather funny name of (??{Zdenstubbe)
was residing alone in apartments in the Rue St. Lazare, Paris, and one night
there appeared to him in his bed-room the ghost of a stout old gentleman.
It seems that he saw a column of "light grayish vapour," or soi't of "bluish
light," out of which there gradually grew into sight, within it, the figure of
a " tall, portly old man, with a fresh colour, hlice eyes,* snow white haii',
thin white whiskers, but without beard or moustache, and dressed \vith care.
He seemed to wear a white cravat and long white waistcoat, high stiff shirt
collar, and long black frock coat thrown back from his chest as is wont of
corpulent people like him in hot weather. He appeared to lean on a heavy
tvhite cane." After the baron had seen this porthj ghost, he went to bed
and to sleep, and in a dream the same figure appeared to him again, and he
thought he heard it say, " Hitherto you have not believed in the reality of
apparitions, considering them only as the recallings of memory ; now, since
you have seen a straiKjer, you cannot consider it the reproduction of former
ideas."

Every one will acknowledge that this was exceedingly kind on the part
of the ghost, as he had no doubt to come a long way for the express purpose
of setting the baron's mind right upon this point ; and had also come from
a vertj icarm 'place, as his frock coat " was thrown from his chest, as is wont
with corpulent people in hot weather."

This polite, good-natured, "blue "-eyed apparition, who was "dressed
with care," had been the proprietor of the maison — a Monsieur Caron — •
who had dropped down in an apoplectic fit ; and, oh, horror of horrors, had
actually " died in the very bed now occupied by the baron !"

When the daughter heard of the ghost of her papa, appearing thus upon
one or two occasions, " she caused masses to be said for the soul of her father,"
and it is " alleged that the apparition has not been seen in any of the apart-
ments since ;" or, to use a vulgarism, we might say here, that this ghost had
" cut his stick."

!Mr. Robert Dale Owen had this narrative from the baron himself in
Paris, on the 11th of May, 1859, and he is of opinion that this " story
derives much of its value from the calm and dispassionate manner in which
the witness appears to have observed the succession of phenomena, and the
exact details which, in consequence, he has been enabled to famish. It is
remarkable also, as well for the electrical influences which preceded the
appearance, as on account of the correspondence between the apparition to
the baron in his waking state, and that subsequently seen in his dream ; the
first cognizable by one sense only — that of sight— the second appealing

* The baron must have had^oof? eyes to hare seen the precise colour of the ghost's eyes
under such circumstances.

IG A DISCOVERY CONCERNING GHOSTS.

(thougli in vision of the sight only) to the hearing also. The coincidences
as to personal peculiarities and details of dress are too numerous and minutely
exact to be fortuitous, let us adopt -what theory we may."

As this baron is no doubt a most respectable and well-conducted gentle-
man, in every respect, I will not say —

That Monsieur the Baron de Guldenstubbe
Had taken too much out of a bottle or tub,

but this I will say, that his account seems to be nothing more or less than a
very exact description of some " dissolving view " trick played off upon the
baron and others by some clever French neighbour ; and as to his dream, it
is surely hardly worth while to notice such nonsense, as dreams are now well
understood to be only the imperfect operations of the organs of thought, in a
semi-dormant state, " half asleep and half awake," and are the effect some-
times of agreeable sensations or painful emotions, during the waking hours,
and may be produced to any disagreeable amount by eating a very hearty
supper of underdone " pork pies," and going to sleep on the back instead of
reclining on the side. We cannot dream of anything of which we have not
seen or had something of a similar kind before, nor can we form either
awake or in a dream any form whatever — animate or inanimate, which does
not partake or form some part of nature's general objects ; and in fact we
cannot invent an animal form without combining the parts of existing animals
either of man or beast. I trust that this fact will be a sufficient answer
for Monsieur Caron. And then, as to the "laying" of this ghost, it does
seem to me to be extraordinary, that any person possessed of common under-
standing in these days, let their religion be what it may, should believe that
the Almighty God would not let a departed spirit rest, until " masses " had
been said for the soul of such person ; until some vioiei/ had been paid to a
priest to mumble over a few set forms of prayer. JPaid for prayers — prayers
at a certain market price! Then, as to the "white cravat," "white
Avaistcoat," "high stiff shirt collar," and " black frock coat," and more par-
ticularly the "heavy white cane," is it to be understood that these said
"masses" put all these materials to rest, as well as the soul or spirit of the
body ? If not, where did they go to ? Had they to return to purgatory by
themselves— had the heavy white walking-stick to walk off without its
owner ?

In the frame of mind in whicli this story is written, it is not at all sur-
prising that the author should have taken so much trouble to put these /^e^s
together, and that he should evidently be altogether so satisfied with the
conclusion which he arrives at. But ghost stories, like many other matters,
where a foundation is once laid and established in falsehood or nonsense,
such builders may go on, adding any amount of the same materials, upon this
false basis. They may go on, worhln(j in the darh — piling up one story upon
another, until the structure assumes the appearance in the dusk of a well-
established and substantial edifice, and looking as if it would stand firm for
ever ; but undermine this apparently stronghold, with that which is always
considered as a great lore, when used in working under the foundations of
long-established error or prejudice, namely. Truth, guided by tkie Religion,
and when thus armed and prepared, " spring the mine " with a good " blow-

A DISCOVERY CONCERNING GHOSTS,

17

up " of COMMON SENSE, to let in the light of Heaven and Christian civilized
intelligence, and the whole mass of ignorance and superstition is blown and
scattered to the winds, "like the baseless fabric of a vision."

It may be said that the truth of this ghost story rests mainly on a stich —
leans upon a " heavy white cane." Take away the cane and down comes
the ghost ! " white waistcoat," " high stiff shirt collar," " black coat," " blue
eyes," and all!

The author of " Footfalls on the Boundary of another World " is evidently
a religious man, and had he but thought as deeply upon these matters as I
have done, I am sure he would never have been guilty of the impiety of
bringing forward such questions as to the sjoirituaUty of walking-sticks.
But I am well pleased that this "heavy white cane" has been introduced
here, because it affords me a handle to cane or to knock down and drive
away entirely these hideous and unnatural myths ; and also because it enables
me to stick to the text, and to introduce here to the public an old friend, as
another illustration bearing upon the stick question. This is the apparition
of one Tom Straitshank, drawn, as you will see, by your humble servant.

This was a jolly bold daring spirit, and was seen when on board the
Victory at the battle of Trafalgar to emerge, like Monsieur Caron, out of some
light bluish vapoui% very much like the smoke of gunpowder ; and in that
battle it appears, like one of the heroes in " Chevy Chase," his " legs were
smitten off!" but, unlike that warrior, he found that Jie could not fight
"upon his stumps," so he had a pair of wooden legs made, and having
bought two stout walking-sticks, was thus enabled to hobble about on his
" timber toes." He almost always appeared in various different parts of

C

18 A DISCOVERY CONCERNING GHOSTS.

" Greenwich Hospital," and very often surrounded by, and sometimes
emerging from, a vapour very like the smoke of tobacco. I feel here that I
ought to have given Tom his pipe, but the drawing of this tar was done
many years since, and until I read Mrs. Crowe's book lately, I was not
aware that ghosts smoked their pipes, but it actually appears that they do
smoke, for at page 210 of " The Night-side of Nature," a ghost is introduced
with a " short pipe," and it was found out that the reason of his " walking
by night " was, that he owed " a small debt for tobacco /"

And when this little bacca-bill was paid,

This ghost, with his little bacca-pipe, was " laid ;"

and we may suppose the spirit laid down his pipe. This ghost of a tobacco-
pipe raises the question of what these spiritual pipes are made — of what clay,
or if the Meer Schum are only mere shams; what sort of tobacco-leaves
their cigars are made of, and if there are any spiritual "cabbage-leaves"
mixed up with them.

Yes, we'd just like to know, what weed 'tis they burns,
Whether " Shortcut," " Shag," "Bird's eye," or "Returas."

As the gents here, light theii' pipes and cigars with a kind of Lucifer
match, we may be pretty sure that they will continue to do so elsewhere ;
but one would like to know also if ghosts chaw tobacco, if they take a quid
of " pig-tail," and if the smokers use spittoons — faugh ! — and further, as
ghosts do smoke, if they take a pinch of snuflF, if there is such a thing as
spiritual snuff, if there be such things as the spirit of " Irish blaguard "
and " Scotch rappee?"

Some of these " sensation " melodramas, or rather farces, might vie in
the number of nights in which the performances took place, with some of
the "sensation" or popular theatrical pieces of the present day. Here is
one entitled, " The Drummer of Tedworth" (what a capital heading for a
" play bill !"), in which the ghost or evil spirit of a dinimmer, or the ghost
of a drum (for it does not appear clearly which of the two it was), performed
the principal part in this drama, Avith slight intervals, for " two entire

years.''''

Oh ! this drummer, oh ! this drummer,

I'll tell you what he used to do.
He used to beat upon his drum,
The " Old Gentleman's tattoo."

The "plot " runs thus: — In March, 1661, Mr, 'Mompesson, a magistrate,
caused a vagrant drummer to be arrested, who had been annoying the
country by noisy demands for charity, and had ordered his drum, " oh that
drum !" to be taken from him and left in the bailiff's hands. About the
middle of April following (that is in 1661), when Mr. Mompesson was pre-
paring for a journey to London, the bailiff sent the dram to his house.
Upon his return home he was informed that noises had been heard, and then
he heard the noises himself, which were a " thumping ajiddnunming," nccovo.-
panied by "a strange noise and hollow sound." The sign of it when it
came, was like a hurling in the aii', over the house, and at its going off, the
beating of a drum, like that at the " breaking up of a guard."

A DISCOVERY CONCERNING GHOSTS. 19

" After a month's disturbance otdside the house (' which was most of it
of board') it came into the room ivJiere the drum laij." " For an hour together
it would beat ' Roundheads and cockolds,' the ' tattoo,' and several other
points of war, as well as any drummer." Upon one occasion, " when many
were present, a gentleman said, ' Satan, if the drummer set thee to work, give
three knocks,' which it did very distinctly and no more." And for further trial,
he bid it for confirmatio-n, if it were the drummer, to give five knocks and no
more that night, which it did, and left the house quiet all the night after."

All this seems very strange, about this drummer and his drum,

But for myself, I reaUy think this drumming ghost was " all a hum."

But strange as it certainly was, is it not still more strange, that educated
gentlemen, and even clergymen, as in this case also, should believe that the
Almighty would suffer an evil spirit to disturb and affright a whole innocent
family, because the head of that family had, in his capacity as magistrate,
thought it his duty to take away a drum, from no doubt a drunken drummer,
who by his noisy conduct had become a nuisance and an annoyance to the
neighbourhood ?

The next case of supposed spiritual antics was not the drumming of a
drum, but a tune upon a warming-pan, the " clatter " of " a warming-pan,"
and a vast variety of other earthly sounds, which it was proved to have been
heard at the Rev. Samuel Wesley's, who was the father of the celebrated
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, at a place called Epworth, in
Lincolnshire. These sounds consisted of " knockings," and "groanings," of
" footsteps," and " rustling of silk trailing along" (the " rustling of silk "
seems to be a favourite air with the ghosts), " clattering " of the " iron case-
inent" and ^^ clattering " of the ^^ imrming-pan," and then as if a "vessel full
of silver was poured upon Mrs. Wesley's breast and ran jingling down to
her feet ;" and all sorts of fi'ightful noises, not only enough to " frighten
anybody," but which frightened even a big dog ! — a large mastiff, who used
at first, when he heard the noises, " to bark and leap and snap on one side
and the other, and that frequently before any person in the room heard the
noises at all ; but after two or three days, he used to tremble and creep
away before the noise began. And by this, the family knew it was at hand ;
nor did the observation ever fail." Poor bow woo ! what cruel ghosts to be
sure, to go and frighten a poor dog in this way.

Mrs. Wesley at one time thought it was " rats, and sent for a horn to
Ihw them away;" but blowing the horn did not blow the ghosts away.
No ; for at first it only came at night, but after the horn was blown it came
in the daytime as well.

There were many opinions offered as to the cause of these disturbances,
by different persons at different times. Dr. Coleridge " considered it to be a
contagious nervous disease, the acme or intensest form of which is cata-
lepsy." Mr. Owen here asks if the mastiff was cataleptic also ? It is rather
curious that a cat is mentioned in this narrative. Now supposing the dog
could not have been cataleptic, the cat might perhaps have been so.

Some of the Wesley family believed it to be supernatural hauntings, and
give the following reason for it : — It appears that at morning and evening
family prayers, " when the Rev. Samuel Wesley, the father, commenced the

20 A DISCOVERT CONCERNING GHOSTS.

prayer for the king, a knocking began all round the room, and a thundering
knock attended the Amen.'* Mr. "Wesley observed that his wife did not say
amen to the prayer for the king. She said she could not, for she did not
beheve that the Prince of Orange was king. Mr. Wesley vowed ho could
not live with her until she did. He took his horse and rode away, and she
heard nothing of him for a twelvemonth. He then came back and lived
with her, as before, and although he did so, they add, that they fear this
vow was not forgotten before God.

If any religious persons were asked whether they thought that auy law,
natural or divine, could be suspended or set aside without the permission or
sanction of the Creator, their answer would be, nay, imist be, certainhj not.
Yes, this would be their answer. Then is it not extraordinary that the
members of this pious clergyman's family, and from whence sprang the
founder of such a large and respectable religious sect, should have such a
mean idea of the Supreme Being, as to suppose that He would allow the
regular laws of the universe to be suspended or set aside, and whole families
(including unoffending innocent children) to be disturbed, terrified, and some-
times seriously injured, for such contemptible, ridiculous, and senseless reasons
or purposes, such as those assigned in the various cases already alluded to.
It is indeed to me surprising that any one possessing an atom of sound Chris-
tian religion, can suppose and maintain for one moment that these silly, sup-
posed supernatural sounds and appearances can be, as they say, " of God."

We may defy the supporters of this apparition doctrine to bring forward
one circumstance in connection with these ghosts, which corresponds in any
way with the real character of the Creator, where any real benefit has been
known to result from such sounds and such appearances — none, none, none •
whereas we know that there has been a large amount of human suffering,
illness, folly, and mischief, and in former times, we know, to a large and
serious extent, but even now, in this " age of intellect," when we come
to investigate the causes of some of the most painful diseases amongst
children and young persons, particularly young females, we find, on the
authority of the first medical men, that they are occasioned by being
frightened by mischievous, thoughtless, or cruel persons, mainly in conse-
quence of being tmirjM in their cliihlhood to believe in ghosts. I know a young
lady who, when a child, was placed in a dark closet by her nurse, and so
terrified in this way that the poor little girl lost her speech, and has been
dumb ever Since. Dr. Elliotson, in one of liis reports of the Mesmeric
Hospital, cites several most distressing and painful cases of " chorea," or
St. Vitus's dance, and dreadful fits, brought on through fright; and
Dr. Wood, physician to St. Luke's Hospital (for lunatics), assures me that
many cases of insanity are produced by terror from these causes ; but even
supposing that there are not very many cases of positive insanity brought
on in this way, still the unnatural excitement thus acting on the brain, or
the mind dwelling upon such matters, must have an unhealthy tendency.

If all rational and religious persons will give this subject the attention
which it demands, they will, I feel confident, see, that this belief in ghosts
should not only be discountenanced, but put an end to altogether, if
possible, as such notions not only have an injurious eflfect upon the health
and comfort of many persons, particularly those of tender age, but it

A DISCOVEliY CONCERNING GHOSTS. 21

also debases the proper ideas wliich. man ought to have of the Creatoe ;
and not only so, but it also interferes] with] and j trenches upon that mys-
terious and sacred question, the immortalitij of the soul; that it disturbs
that belief wliich, with a firm trust and reliance upon the goodness and
mercy of God, is the only consolation the afflicted mind can have, when
mourning for the loss of those they have loved dearer than themselves.

These hauntings of drumming and knocking, and thumping and bumping,
with thundering noises, almost shaking the houses down, accompanied
by the delicate rustlings of silk and trailing of gowns, etc., were at the time
suspected of being tiicks ; and by the perusal of the following cases the
reader will see that such tricks can and have been played, and such im-
posture carried on so successfully as to deceive clergymen and others ; and
but for the severe natural tests brought to bear upon the supposed super-
natural actors, would no doubt have been quoted by Mr. Owen and others
as well-attested, well-established, veritable spiritual performances.

At the corner of a street which runs from Snow Hill into Smithfield,
stands what I consider a public nuisance, commonly called a " public-house,"
the sign of " The Cock," and that which is now a street was formerly a
rustic lane, and took its name from the sign of that house, and therefore
called to this day " Cock Lane," which locality, in about the years 1754 to
1756, became one of the most celebrated places in London, in consequence,
as it was believed, of one of the houses therein being taken possession of by
a female ghost, who was designated "the Cock Lane ghost."

A man of the name of Parsons kept the house, and in which lodged a
gentleman and his wife of the name of Kempe. This lady died at this
house, and after her death it was given out by Parsons that his daughter,
then eleven years of age (who used to sleep with Mrs. Kempe when her
husband was out of town), was " possessed" with the spirit of the deceased
lady, and that the spirit had informed the little girl that she had been
murdered by her husband— that she had been "poisoned !" A vast number
of respectable ladies and gentlemen, including clergymen, were "taken in" —
but happily for themselves not " done for" — by this ghost ; and it is said that
even the celebrated Dr. Samuel Johnson was convinced of the spirituality of
the " knocks" which the ghost gave in answer to questions, for it kept up
conversations in precisely the same manner — that is, by " knocks" or " raps"
— as the " spirit-rappers" do at the present day. The " scratchings" and
" knocks" were only heard when Parson's little daughter was in bed.

After this sort of thing had gone on for a considerable time, and a post-
omrtem examination of the body of the supposed murdered lady, which had
been deposited in the vaults of St. John's, Clerkenwell Close, Mr. Kempe
found it necessary to take steps to defend his character. The child was
removed to the house of a highly-respectable lady, where " not a sound was
heard," no " scratchings" or " knocks," for several nights ; but the girl
Pai'sons, who was now a year or two older, upon going to bed one night
informed the watchers that the ghost would pay a visit the following
morning ; but the servants of the house informed the watchers that the
young lady had taken a bit of wood, six inches long by four inches broad,
into bed with her, which she had concealed in her stays. This bit of
wood was used to " stand the kettle on." The imposture was discovered,

22 A DISCOVERY CONCERN INO GHOSTS.

and the poor girl confessed to the -moked trickery which her parents had
taught her to practise ! •

Mi\ Kempe indicted Parsons and others for conspiracy against liis life
and character, the case was tried before Lord Mansfield at Guildhall, July
10th, 17oG, and all the parties convicted. The Rev. Mr. More and a printer,
with others, were heavily fined. Parsons was set in the pillory tlu*ee times
in one month and imprisoned for two years, his wife for one year, and Mary
Eraser, the " Medium," for six months in Bridewell, and kept to hard
labour. It came out in the course of investigation that Master Parsons had
borrowed some money of Mr. Kempe, and it was rather suspected that he
did not want to pay it back again.

Another celebrated spiritual farce was enacted in 1810, entitled ^^ The Samp-
ford Ghost. ^' This is a village near Tiverton, in Devonshire, and the following
striking performances were *' attested by affi.davlt of the Rev. C. Cotton," who,
by the by, was of opinion that " a belief in ghosts is favourable to virtue."

Imprimis, " stamping on the boards answered by similar sounds under-
neath the flooring, and these sounds followed the persons through the upper
apartments and answered the stamping of the feet. The servant women
were beaten in bed ' with a fist,' a candlestick thrown at the master's head but
did not hit him, heard footsteps, no one could be seen walking round, candles
were alight but could see no one, but steps were heard ' like a man's foot in
a slipper,' with rapping at the doors, etc. etc. After this the servants were
slapped, pushed, and bufieted. The bed was more than once stuck fall of pins,
loud repeated knockings were heard in all the upper rooms, the house shook,
the windows rattled in their casements, and all the horrors of the most horrible
of romances were accumulated in this devoted habitation." Amongst other
things it was declared by a man, of the rather suspicious name of " Dodge,"
that the prentice boy had seen " an old woman descend through the ceiling."

The house was tenanted by a man of the name of Chave, a huckster.
The landlord was a Mr. TuUy, who determined to investigate this matter
himself, and went to sleep, or rather to pass the night, at the house for this
purpose. The account says that " he took "s^^th him a reasonable degree
of scepticism, a considerable share of common' sense ;" and I believe a
good thick stick, which is, in my opinion, a much more powerful instru-
ment in Imjiuff these kinds of ghosts than the old-fashioned remedy of
" bell, book, and candle."

When Mr. Tully went to the house he saw " Dodge" speaking to Mrs.
Chave in the shop, and also saw him leave the house ; but when he went up
stairs by himself who should he see but this same " Dodge," who liad got up
stairs by a private entrance, but who could not dodge out of Mr. Tally's
way. So Mr. Tully pounced upon him and locked him in the room, where
he also found a mopstick " battered at the end into splinters and covered
with whitewash," and this was the ghost that answered the stamping on the
floors. Mr. Tally went to bed, and as no ghosts thumped he went to sleep
and had a good night's rest ; and upon examining the house the next day,
found the ceilings below in " a state of mutilation," from the ghostly thumps
it had received.

The cause of the house being haunted was a conspiracy on the part of
Chave and his friends to get the house at a very low rent, as he would

A DISCOVERT OONOERNING GHOSTS. 23

not mind living on the premises, but other persons would not, of course, be
likely to take a " haunted house."

A drunken mob one day met and assaulted Chave after this trick was
exposed, and he took refuge in his " haunted house," fi'om whence he fired a
pistol and shot one man dead. Another man was also killed at the same
time, thus two lives were sacrificed to this " Sampford ghost." The Rev.
C. Cotton died shortly after this ghost was discovered to be a flam, or sham
ghost ; it was supposed of chagria and vexation at being made a biott of by
the vulgar for his simplicity and credulity.

Another sensation farce was " The Stockwell Ghost," which performed
its tricks very cleverly and successfully at a farm-house in that place in the
year 1772. It broke neai'ly every bit of glass, china, and crockery in the
house, and no discovery was made at the time of the hoio, the wJiy, or the
wherefore. But in " The Eveiy Day Book," edited and published by "W.
Hone, the whole matter is explained in the confession of a woman who lived
at the house as servant girl at the time, and who played the part of the ghost
so well, that she escaped detection, and came oflT, only suspected by a few.

The inutility of attempting to do away entirely with this popular belief
in ghosts by arguments, however well founded on reason and science, has
already been hinted at ; but it will be only fair that science should just put a
word in, as it can do no harm and may do good.

In " Sketches of the Philosophy of Apparition, or an Attempt to Trace
such lUusiojia to their Physical Causes, by Samuel Hibbert, M.D., F.R.S.E.,"
the author states his opinion to be that " Apparitions are nothing more than
ideas or recollected images of the mind, which have been rendered more vivid
than actual impressions," perhaps by morbid affections. It is also pointed out
that " in ghost stories of a supposed supernatural character which by disease
are rendered so imduly intense as to induce spectral illusions, may be traced
to such fantastical objects of prior belief as are incorporated in the various
systems of superstition which for ages have possessed the minds of the vulgar."
" Spectral illusions arise from a highly excited state of the nervous irrita-
bility acting generally upon the system, or from inflammation of the brain,"

" The effect induced on the brain by intoxication from ardent spirits,
which have a strong tendency to inflame this organ, is attended with very
remarkable effects. These have lately been described as symptoms of
' delirium tremens.' Many cases are recorded which show the liability of the
patient to long-continued spectral impressions."

Sir David Brewster represents these phenomena as images projected on
the retina — from the brain, and seen with the eyes open or shut.

Of the many causes assigned for spectral illusions the following may be
enumerated : — Holy ecstasies, various diseases of the brain, diseases of the
eye, extreme sensibility or nervous excitement from fi-ight, various degrees
of fever, effects of opium, delirium tremens, ignorance and superstition, cata-
lepsy, and confused, indistinct, or uncomprehended natural causes. Now all
persons who suppose they see ghosts are at liberty to select any of the fore-
going causes for their being so deluded, for delusion it is, as I hope presently
to prove ; but they may rest assured that these supposed spectres are always
produced either by disease or by over-excited imagination, which in some
cases it may be said amounts to disease. ,

24

A DISCOVERT CONCERNING GHOSTS.

However, to return to the ghosts. A very common, or ratlier the common,
idea of a ghost is generally a very thin and scraggy figure ; but if there are
such things there must be fat ghosts as well as thin ghosts ; fat or thin
people are equally eligible " to put in an appearance " of this sort if they
can ; and to carry out this idea and make it quite clear, I here introduce an
old acquaintance of the public, Mr. Daniel Lambert, as he appeared to my
'jwi-excited imagination whilst engaged on this work. Now if Daniel came

as an apparition, he must, according to the authorities in these matters, not
only "come in his habits as he lived," that is, in the clothes he wore, but
must also come in Mv^fat, or he would not be recognized as the fattest man
" and the heaviest man that ever lived," and although he weighed " 52 stone
11 pounds" (141b. to the stone) in the flesh, in the spirit, he Avould, of
course, be " as light as a feather," or rather an " air bubble ;" and as he
could not dance and jump about when alive, I thought if I brought him in as
a ghost, I'd give him a bit of a treat, and let him dance upon the " tight rope."

A DISCOVEEY COXCERNINO GHOSTS. 25

Most persons will remember a story told by " Pliny the younger " of the
apparition of " an old " man appearing to Athenadorous, a Greek scholar.
This ghost was "lean, haggard, and dirti/," with "dishevelled hair and a
long beard." He had "chains on," and came " shaking his chains" at the
Greek scholar, who heeded him not, but went on with his studies. The old
ghost, however, " came close to him and shook his chains over his head as
he sat at the table," whereupon Athenadorous arose and followed the dirty
old man in his chains, who went into the courtyard and " stamped his foot
upon a stone about the centre of it, and — disappeared." The Greek scholar
marked the spot, and next day had the place dug up, when, lo and behold,
they found there the skeleton of a human being."

Going back to the days of "Fliny the younger" is going back far enough
into early history for my purpose, which is to show that the notions about
apparitions which prevailed at that period are the same as those of the
present day, that is, of their appearing in the dresses they tvore in their life-
time, in every minute particular, as to form, colour, and condition, new or old,
as the case might be ; but to prevent any mistake upon this head, I will just
add some few words from that reliable authority, Defoe, who, you ^vill have
already remarked, is exceedingly particular as to the exactness of every article
of dress ; but in what follows he goes far beyond any other writer on this sub-
ject, for instance he says, " We see them dressed iu the very clothes which
we have cut to pieces, and given away, some to one body, some to another,
or applied to this or that use, so that we can give an account of every rag of them.
We can hear them speaking with the same voice and sound, though the organ
which formed their former speech we are sure is perished and gone."

From the various instances of the appearance of apparitions which have
been brought before the reader, it will, I presume, be admitted that abundant
and sufficient proof has been given that the writers about ghosts, and all
those who have professed to have seen ghosts, declare that they appear in the
dresses lohich they ivore in their lifetime ; but from all I have been able to
learn, it does not appear that from the days of Pliny the younger down to the
days of Shakespeare, and from thence down to the present time, THAT ANT
ON"E HAS EVER THOUGHT OF THE GROSS ABSURDITY, AWD
IMPOSSIBILITY, OF THERE BEK^G SUCH THmGS AS GHOSTS
OF WEARING APPAREL, IRON ARMOUR, WALKING STICKS, AND
SHOVELS! NO, NOT ONE, except Ayself, and this I claim as my
DISCOVERY CONCERNING GHOSTS, and that therefore it foUows, as a
m.atter of course, that as ghosts cannot, must not, dare not, for decency's sake,
appear WITHOUT CLOTHES ; and as there can be no such things AS
GHOSTS OR SPIRITS OF CLOTHES, why, then, it appears that GHOSTS
NEVER DID APPEAR, AND NEVER CAN APPEAR, at any rate not in
the way in which they have been hitherto supposed to appear.

And now let us glance at the material question, or question of materialism.
In the year 1828, a work was pubhshed, entitled " Past Feelings Reko-
YATED ; or. Ideas occasioned by the perusal of De. Hibbert's Philosophy of
Apparitions," which the author says were " written with the view of coun-
teracting any sentiments approaching materialism, which that work, however
unintentional on the part of the author, may have a tendency to produce."
The author of " Past Feelings Renovated " is a firm believer ia apparitions,
who generally " come in their hahits as they lived ; " and in his preface he says,

86

A DISCOYERY CONOEENINQ GHOSTS.

"The general tendency of Dr. Hibbert's work, and evident fallacy of many of the
arguments in support of opinions too nearly ^Y^proaching^ materialism,^ induced
me togive the subject that serioiisconsiderationwhich. it imperatively demands."
This author, it will be perceived, is very much opposed to anything like
^^materialism" in relation to this question, and is strongly in favour of
" spiritualism," but will he bo so good as to tell us what " A pair op Buckskins"
are made of ? and what A pair of Top-boots are made of ? and whether these
materials are sjjiritualized by any process, or whether THE CLOTHES WE
WEAR ON OUR BODIES BECOME A PART AND PARCEL
OP OUR SOULS ? And as it is clearly impossible for spirits to wear
dresses made of the materials of the earth, we should like to know if
there are spiritual- outfitting shops for the clothing of ghosts who pay
visits on earth, and if empty, haunted houses are used for this purpose,
in the same way as the establishments, and after the manner of " Moses
and Son," or " Hyam Brothers," or such like houses of business, or if so,
then there must be also the spirit of woollen cloth, the sjnrit of leather, the
sjpirit of a coat, the spirit of boots and shoes. There must also be the sjnrit
of trousers, spirits of gaiters, waistcoats, neckties, spirits of buckles, for
shoes and knees ; spirit of buttons, " bright gilt buttons ;" spirits of hats,
caps, bonnets, gowns, and petticoats ; spirits of hoops and crinoline, and
ffhosfs stockings. Yes ; only think of the gJiosfs of stockings, but if the
ghost of a lady had to make her appearance here, she could not present her-
self before company withoiit her shoes and stockings, so there must he
GHOSTS OP STOCKINGS.

A DISCOVERT CONCERNING GHOSTS. 27

Most persons will surely feel some hesitation in accepting the assertions
made by Defoe, that ghosts appear in clothes that have been cut up, or
distributed in different places, or destroyed, or that they come in the same
garments that are being worn at the same moment by living persons, or
which are at the time of appearing, in wardrobes or old clothes shops ; or,
perhaps, thousands of miles away fi'om the spot where the ghost pays his
unwelcome visit, or worn or torn into rags, and stuck upon a broomstick
" to frighten away the crows." No, no, I think we may rest assured that
ghosts could not appear in these dresses, or shreds and patches ; in fact,
that they could not show themselves in any dress made of the materials of
the earth as already suggested ; and, therefore, if they did wear any dresses
they must have been composed of a spiritual material, if it be possible to
unite, in any way, two such opposites. Then comes the question, from
whence is this spiritual material obtained, and also if there are spirit manu-
factories, spirit weavers and spinners, and spirit tanners and "tan pits ?"

If this be so, then there must, of course, be ghost tailors, working with
ghosts of needles (how sharp they must be !), and ghosts of threads (and how
fine theij must be !), and the ghost of a " sleeve board," and the ghost of the
iron, which the tailors use to flatten the seams, called a " goose " (only think
of the ghost of a tailor's " goose !") Then there must be the ghost of a
"bootmaker," with the ghost of a "lapstone," and a "last," and the spirit
of " cobbler's wax !" Ghost of " button makers," " wig makers," and
"hatters;" and, indeed, of every trade necessary to fit out a ghost, either
lady or gentleman, in order to make it appear that they really did appear
" in their habits as they lived."

There are, I know, many respectable worthy persons even at the present
day who believe they sometimes see apparitions, and I would here take the
liberty to advise such persons to ponder a little upon the above remarks
relative to the clothing of spirits, and, when again they think they see a
GHOST, recollect that with the exception of the face and a little bit of the
iicch perhaps, and also the hands, if without gloves, that all the other parts are
CLOTHES. And I would also take the liberty to suggest that he should ask
the ghost these questions : — " Who's your tailor ?" and " Who's your hatter ?"

Whatever the belief of the "Bard of Avon" might have been with
respect to ghosts, it is quite clear that [in these cases he was merely exer-
cising his great poetical talent to work out the several points of popular belief
in apparitions, for the purpose of producing a striking " stage effect ;" but
all that he brings forward, goes to prove the long-established faith in these
aerial beings, and the general and almost universal requisites of character
and costume. But it probably never entered the great mind of this great
poet that there could be no such thing as a ghost of iv.O's, for if it had, he
would, no doubt, have dressed up the ghost of Hamlet's father in some sort
of suit rather more aerial than a suit of steel armour. There may be
" more things 'twixt heaven and earth" than were dreamt of in Horatio's
philosophy ; but the ghost of Iron armour could not be one of these
things, be included in the Hst, and on reverting to this ghost, the reader
will observe that I have given no figure in that suit of armour, and no head
to the figure of Napoleon the First, and for this reason, the art of drawing,
you will please to observe, is a severe critical test in matters of this sort.
For suppose an artist is employed to make a drawing of this ghost of

28

A DISCOVERY CONCERNING GHCSTS.

Hamlet's father, ho will begin, or ought to begin, first to sketch out, very
lightly, the size and attitude of the figure required ; then suppose he makes
out the face, and then begins to work on the helmet, but here he stops —
why ? because if he has any thought, he will say this is not spirit, this is
manufactured ii'on ! And so with the other parts of the figure, all except
the face is material; and then to my old enemy in one sense, and friend in
another — Napoleon, for I volunteered, and armed myself to assist to keep him
from coming over here before I was twenty years of age ; and as a carica-
turist, what by turning him, sometimes into ridicule, and sometimes, in fact
very often I may say, killing him with my sharp etching needle, "little
Boney " used very frequently to give me a good solid bit of meat, and make
my "pot boil." But with respect to this headless figure, if the artist is
requested to make a drawing of the spirit of this great general, he would,
after making out the face, begin with the collar of the coat, and then stop —
and why ? Because the coat is no part of a spirit, and if the whole of the
figure were finished with the face in, what would that be but the spirit of the
face of Napoleon ; all the rest would consist of a cocked-hat, with tricolored
cockade ; a military coat, with buttons ; a waistcoat, a sword and sash,
leather gloves, and leather pantaloons, jack-boots, and spurs ! Are, or can
these things be spiritual ? If the end of the finger is placed over the space
which is left for the face of Napoleon, the figure will be recognized as his
u-ifhout the head ; and so -with Hamlet's father, place the end of the finger
in front of the helmet, and the armour will pass for the ghost ; and do the like
with the figure of Daniel Lambert, put the head out of sight, all tJie rest, is
neck-handkerchief, a bit of shirt, a coat, a waistcoast, a pair of gloves, small
clothes (not very small by the by), an immense pair of stockings, and the points
of a pair of shoes ; and as to the headless ghost of the gentleman in the hhie
coat and gilt buttons, that is also NOTHING BUT A SUIT OF CLOTHES.
The reader will recollect that Daniel Defoe, !Mrs. Crowe, and Mr. Owen,
and other authors have all introduced GHOSTS OF WIGS amongst their
facts, in support of spiritual apparitions, so if there are ghosts of " wigs,"
there must also be GHOSTS OF " PIGTAILS," because they were some-
times a part of a wig ; and in taking leave of the reader, I take the liberty
of introducing a ghost of a wig and pigtail, Avho will make a polite bow
for the humble author and artist of this " DISCOVERY CONCERNING
GHOSTS."

ADDENDA.

Just as I depicted the ghost of the wig and pigtail to bow out all the old-
fashioned GHOSTS, methought I heard a voice say, "Well, sir, suppose it
granted that you have shown the utter impossibility of there being such
things as ghosts of hats, coats, sticks, and umbrellas ; admitting that you
really have " laid" aU these ghosts of the old style, what say you to the
*' spirit manifestations" of the present day ?

Well, this does certainly seem to be putting rather a " Hovie question" —
a " Home thi-ust," if you please ; but sharp as the question may be, and
difl&cult as it may seem to answer, I am not going to shirk the question.

In the first place, this inquiring spirit must please to recollect that these
*' spii'it-rappers " of the present day are almost an entirely new-fashioned
spirit, a different sort of ghost altogether, or ghosts in "piecemeal;" only
hits of spirits, who never come of their own accord, and have to be squeezed
out of a table bit by bit, when they do hold up a hand, or tap or touch
people's legs under the table with their hand, or a bit of one. But never
having attended a ^^ seance" I cannot give the inquiring spirit any information
about these spirits from my own personal knowledge. If the inquirer wishes
to know " all about" these spirits, he had better apply to Mr. D. D. Home,
who is quite " at home" with these spii'its, upon the most " familiar" terms !
in fact, "hand and glove" with them ; and they feel so much at home with
Mr. Home, that they are constantly putting their hands and arms, if not
theii' legs, " under his mahogany." I therefore take the liberty of referring
" Inquirer" to this Home medium, or any other medium. Home or foreign,
for a "full, true, and particular account" of the character and conduct of
these new-fashioned, lTew-found-/rt«(? ghosts or spii'itual gentlefolk, for it does
not appear that there are any of the "working-class" amongst them.

It has been asserted by Mr. Home, that he has seen " full length"
ghosts. These I shall put to the test a little further on.

As I intend putting a few questions myself to these " mediums," or
through this medium, to the spirits, I have to hope that these questions of
mine will be taken by the inquiring spirits who question me as an answer to
their question upon what may be at present considered upon the whole as
almost, if not entirely, tmansv-eroMe, at least with the ordinary natural
organs of thought and judgment^ and therefore it must be left to these
tabular spirits or their mediums to explain (that is, if they can) that which,
to the " outsiders," as the affaii- stands at this moment, is an inexplicable
piizzle.

In bringing forward my questions, I will take the libei-ty of making an
extract from the " Times," of the 9th of April last, where Mr. D. D. Home's
book of " Incidents in my Life," is reviewed with considerable acumen and

30 ADDENDA.

ability ; and wherein tlie writer states that a Dr. Wilkinson was desirous of
obtaining some information and explanations respecting the "ways and
means" of these spirits. The Doctor asked Mr. Home why the eflFects
(that is, the manifestations) " took place under the table and not iipon it."
Mr. Home said, that " in habituated circles the results were easily obtained
above board, visibly to all, but that at the first sitting it Avas not so ; that
scepticism was almost universal in men's intellects, and marred the forces
at work ; that the spirits accomplish what they do through our life sphere,
or atmosphere, which -whs p)erm£ated at our wills, and if the toill was contrary,
the spliere was unfit for being operated upon." Moreover, allowance must
be made for a certain indisposition on the part of the spirits (as we infer a
sort of spiritual bashfulness), " which deters them from exhibiting their
members in a state of imperfect formation." When some had merely a single
finger put upon their knees, " Mr. Home said that the presenting spirits
could often make one finger where they could not make two, and two where
they could not form an entire hand, just as they could form a hand where
they could not realize a whole human figure" (for there seems never to
have been life sphere at a seance adequate to the' exhibition of an entire
figure, "though Mr, Home has frequently seen spirits in thbie full

PROPORTIONS WHEN ALONE").

And now for one of my questions, which question is not only tmj question^
but a public question, and one which Mr. Home is bound to answer, if he
can. I therefore publicly call upon that gentleman to inform the public if
these SPIRITS, which he saw in their " full proportions," were in a state of
NUDITY, or if they had clothes on ? and if clothed, of what those clothes
were made ? If he does not know these particulars of his own knowledge,
as he has the ear of these spirits, their entire confidence, and as they have
his ear, let him call upon them to let him into the secret of the manufacture
of their garments, or how the spii-its procure them ; and until Mr. Home
explains this satisfactorily to the public, we have a right to suspect that

either he has been himself deceived, or that he Perhaps I had better

not finish the sentence.

The '^inquiring spirit" will see that the clothe.t are the test, and this test
stands good here, as well as vnth the old fashioned ghosts, and this, I
presume, will be allowed as rather a " Home question " to Mr. Home; a
Home thrust which he can only parry by giving tlie information asked ;
which, if he does not, I will not say " Britons, strike Home," but unless he
or the spirits " rap" out a satisfactory answer, he may rely upon it that
he will feel the weight of public opinion, which will weigh rather heavily
upon him. But I give him a first-rate chance of becoming exceedingly
popular, for the mass, the millions, are ready to believe anything in the
shajye of a fact, and I am confident that the whole world would bo delighted
to get hold of such a secret as this. It would be, perhaps, extreme cruelty
to put this gentleman quite " out of spirits ;" but unless he tells us what
the clothes of spirits are made of, I should say that he will stand in rather
an awkward position before the bar of public opinion.

Another question here I'll put, about this spirit " D D outfit,"
Which I fear that the spirits won't answer, just as yet —

ADDENDA. 31

It is a question, I grant, that looks rather queer,

WHch is — are their " togs " made out of our atmosphere /"'

If the cloth is made out of stuff ^^ permeated hy our wills" —

And further, if these ghosts are honest, and pay their tailors' hills ?

And then, as to the handy craft and crafty hands —

Oh tell us if warm hands, and cold —

So cold ! so cold ! oh dear ! —

Are made in any kind of mould,

Or how they trick 'em out of our " life sphere ?"

Now supposing, nay even admitting, that the hands of spirits are exhi-
bited at these seances, does it not really seem to he impossible to believe
that they are made out of the air that surrounds the persons who surround
the table ! ! !

Making fingers and hands out of our " life-sphere " or " atmosphere !"
"permeated by our wills !" Well, I was going to say, " after that comes iu
a horse to be shaved," biit really I hardly know what to say ; for whilst
reading the accounts of these spirits, I feel almost bewildered, and as the
mediums say that there is what they call " spirit- writing," and that spirits
seize the person's wrist, and make them write just what they wist, I suspect
that the spirit of botheration has got hold of my hand, and is making me
write what it pleases ; and I therefore hope the " gentle reader " will excuse
me if I write down here "Handy pandy, Jack a dandy," or any other
childish nonsense ; for as this table lifting and turning seems to alter and
set aside altogether the law of gravitation and all the universal laws of the
universe, that used to be thought by simple people as fixed and unalterable,
so likewise these " spirit hands " and " spirit rapping " seem to put reason
and rationahty entirely out of the field. Therefore, as common sense cannot
be used in any sense on this question, as it is utterly useless in the present
state of affairs to attempt to " chop logic " with "raps," and their mediums
upon such tables as these, it will be here quite in place to talk a little non-
sense. The reader will therefore, I am sure, bear with me if I make two or
three silly suggestions upon this phenomena of moving tables.

Under ordiaary circumstances, when persons who are not " habituated "
have any natural substance to deal with — say, for instance, a deal table — the
niind naturally endeavours to account in a natural way for such apiece of fur-
niture moving or being moved without any assignable natural cause. Common
sense in this case being " put out of court," and the scientific world having
seemingly "given it up," there is no othpr source left but to deal with the
spirits or their mediums in this matter ; and I would here ask if these tables,
heavy or light, are moved by this " life-sphere " or " atmosphere " which is
" permeated by oui* wiUs ;" or if the hands made out of this airy nothing move
and lift the furniture ? As they can give an answer to the query, we shall
all surely be very much obliged to them if they will do so ; and whilst they
are preparing their answer, I will go on with a little more nonsense, and
make a most ridiculous suggestion upon the table lifting, quite as ridiculous
perhaps as anything that has emanated from the spirits or their mediums.
It may seem absurd to bring " Dame IS'ature " into this " circle," but never-

32 ADDENDA.

theless it does seem true that animals who are associated with man seem to
partake, to a very large extent, of man's intelligence. Dogs particularly so,
cats pretty well, and even pigs have been known, when domesticated, to bo
cleanly and polite, and of course we have all heard of the " learned pig."
Dear little birds, and even asses and geese, have been known to share in
this " life sphere" or "atmosphere" of man's brain. I knew a man who
was educating and training a goose, to come out before the public as a per-
former as a learned goose, which intention was unfortunately not carried out,
in consequence of an accident which happened to the poor bird about
" Michaelmas " time. It appears that he got placed so near a large fire that
he was very soon ^^ done hrown," and upon a "post mortem " examination it
was discovered that he was stuffed full of sage and onion.

We are so accustomed to have intelligent animals about us, that we do
not look upon it as anything very extraordinary. Nevertheless, the pheno-
mena is not the less wonderful for all that. IS'ow I lay this question on the
table, for the spirits to rap out an answer — viz., as tables and chairs are
associated with man (and woman, of course), can, or is the vital spark, or
life principle, conveyed from the body into the wood, which is porous, and
can it make these otherwise inanimate objects " all alive alive 0 ?" The
reader must excuse me for asking such a silly question, and will please to
recollect that I am not putting the question to him, but to the silly spirits
and their mediums, for these spirits, it is stated, are sometimes quite as silly
as ««y body can be. I therefore ask again whether the vital principle or
force is conveyed into the tables whilst the parties or " circle " are pressing
their hands upon it ; and if not, please to tell us what it is, for the " outer "
world are very anxious and waiting to know. It must be observed that the
tables only move under this j^'^ssnre, and whilst the "circle" is thus acting
and using its atmospheric influence, otherwise the tables might or would be
always jumping about the room ; and if the tables are not thus moved by
animal heat, how would the animal man be able to get his meals ? And it
follows as a natural — beg pardon, spiritual — consequence, that if this be not
the case, or the cause, then are the spirits a very thoughtful and well-
behaved society, to be thus careful not to rattle or roll the table about and
jump it up and down when the dinner is spread ; or perhaps these spirits
partake of the " good things of this life," as very poor French emigrants
used to do, namely, by merely smelling the viands at a cook's shop — " sniff,
sniff, ah ! dat is nice a roast a bef — sniff, sniff, ah ! dat nice piece de veal —
ah ! sniff, sniff, dat a nice piece a de pork — ah ! ah ! sniff, snifi'" — but if they
don't eat it appears they drink ; for in an article by R. H. Hatton, in tho
"Victoria Magazine,"* entitled "Tlie Unspiritual World of Spirits," it states
that Mr. Howitt " believes in a modern German ghost that drank beer,"
Avhich called forth the words (with a horrible exclamation), " it SAvallows!"
and at a " seance " held at a chateau near Paris, three years back, a gentle-
man asked for some brandy and water, which when brought was " snatched
out of his hold by a spirit-hand which carried it beneath the table," and " the
glass came back cmptyy We are told that the spirits have difficulty in
making a finger ; if so, they must have a greater difficulty in " making

* Published by Emily Faithful. And I take this opportunity of wishing success to the
" Victoria Magazine," as a part of the good work in which that lady is engaged.

ADDENDA. 33

mouths;" but suppose tliey do make a mouth, and the spirits driuk the
beer and spirits, where is the liquid to go to, if they have made no stomach
out of the atmosphere of the ladies and gentlemen forming the " circle "
round the table? This does not look as if it were "all fair and above
board ;" but, on the contrary, very much as if there were some clever rascally
little hoclies playing their pranks and taking the " spii'its " under the table ;
however, if it be the real spirits who drank the beer and spirits, I as a teeto-
taler must express my disgust at such conduct, and, for one, will have nothing
to do with such spirits ; indeed, I am quite shocked to find, contrary to all
former ideas of spiritual life, that even these ^'' pure spirits " have still a taste
for the spirit of alcohol. I really hegin to fear that these drinking, if not
drunken spirits, do haunt the " spirit- vaults." The hecr they drink is, I
presume, " jHb?;2(?-brewed."

But to turn again to the " table-turning." One way that I would sug-
gest this question, to test, as to whether it be the life principle that gives a
sort of life to these wooden legs, and drawers, and hody, and flaps, from
which the spirits send out their " raps," would be, to substitute an iron table,
a good heavy iron table, and as it is said they can lift any weight, let 'em
lift that ; and if not iron, then try a good large marble slab. If the iron will
not " enter into tlieir soul," let them try if their soul will enter into the iron,
or if the stone will be moved by the " atmosphere " of their flesh and their
bone.

Wonders, it is said, will never cease, and most assuredly some of the
tales told of these " seances^'' and some of the reported spirit exhibitions arc
so wonderful, so astounding, that one does not know how to believe them ;
and there are certain circumstances in some parts of the performance that
look so like trickery, that it is impossible to accept the whole relation as
fact, however miich we might feel disposed to receive a part thereof. Some
of these performances are performed in the dark, in the " pitch dark," so dark
that the company cannot see each other ; and it is in this state of " inner "
and " utter " darkness that the spirits prefer to lift Mr. Home, Virxd. float him
^lp to the ceilijig,* so that the spirits who life him are ^'- invisible spirits," and
Mr. Home is invisible also. And this makes me think that these spirits are
without clothing, and being so, are ashamed to show themselves. I put
this as a question to Mr. Home, and also, as they only maJce hands and
shake hands, if they are not " ashamed to show their faces," v:hy don't
they make faces ? (I don't mean grimaces). But I should not only like to
know why they don't make some "atmospheric" "life-sphere" faces, but
should also very much like to sketch their likenesses, or "take them off," as
people say.

Touching upon these faces reminds me that a new feature has been
introduced in this new world, that is, taking up this new fashion of the old
world by having '■'carte de visiles." A Mr. Minn-lev, of Boston, U.S., dis-
covered that these spirits have a taste for art as well as music, and that they
have a little vanity like ourselves ; and it has since been discovered thsd, fraud
has been discovered, of photographers — '■'■palming off' as spirit likeness — pic-
tures of persons noio alive!'' But here comes the clothes test again, these

* I should like to ask a question here —

la Home by spirits lifted, or by " atmosphere ?"

34 ADDENDA.

spirited portraits have all got their clothes on. Apparitions of salts of clothes,
spirits of coats, hoots, and ladies' dresses ! ! !

This test of the dotJunrf is very severe, for without having clothes the
ghost can't appear ; for even that extraordinary clever invention of Professor
Pepper's, the " patent" ghost, which he exhibited at the Polytechnic Insti-
tution, and which is introduced into a piece called "The Haunted Man and
the Ghost's Bargain," now performing at the Adelphi Theatre, and which
ghost, I am sorry to say, I have not yet had time to see, but this " patent
ghost," of course, has CLOTHES on. In fact, apparitions cannot appear
without clothes, and apparitions of clothes cannot appear ; and so — but
really I had quite forgotten that I had left Mr. Home sticking up against
the ceiling, upon which it appears he makes his mark — all in the dark
— as a kind of " skylark," " Seeinrj is believing," bat as his friends could
not see him, he was obliged to do some thing of this sort, suspecting, I sup-
pose, that his fi-iends would not take his uvrcl. When a light was thrown
upon this scene, Mr. Home was discovered lying upon his back upon the
table ! It may he rude to say that all this was all a trick, but pardonable,
perhaps, to say it looks very like ti-ickery.

Talking of " skylarking," reminds me, that in conversation with a friend
of mine, who is a believer in Mr. Home, and expressing a doubt about the
possibility of Mr. H. kicking his heels up in the au* in this way, and
asking if it were not imaginary, my friend assured me that it was no " flight
of fancy," that it was quite true, and that it was not at all improbable but
that some day, in daylight, we might " see Mr. Home floating across the
metropolis !" I suggested that Mr. H. had better mind what he was
about, as there was danger in such a flight, for some short-sighted sports-
man, or if not short-sighted, he might be in such a state of fuddle as
not "to know a hawk from a hand saw," and might mistake him for some
gigantic, monstrous blackbird," or some " rara «?•(>," and bring him down
with his gun, though in this case he would not want to " bag his game."

To prevent such a hit as this, or rather such a mischance, I would suggest
that due notice should be given to the public when Mr. Home intends
appearing up above the chimney-pots ; and that in addition to his floating,
that the spirits should run him along the " electric telegraph" wires. That
would be something worth seeing, and much better than the stupid, silly,
nonsensical tricks they now play either on the table or under the table.

There used formei'ly, even in my time — I don't go back so far as the
reign of the Charles's, but to the days of the " charlies," as the old
watchmen were called, and before the '^ new police" were introduced to
the public, — in those days ghost tricks were played in various parts of
London ; one favourite spot was in front of St. Giles's churchyard, near unto
a " spirit vault." It used to be reported that there was a ghost every night
in this churchyard, but it was an invisible ghost, for it never was seen,
though there was a mob of people gaping and straining their eyes to get
a peep at it ; but during this time, some low cunning spirits used to creep
out of the adjoining spirit vaults, mix amongst the crowd, and having veiy
light fingers, used, instead of tapping the people on the knees, as the spirits
do at the '^seances," they dipped their hands into the "atmosphere" of
respectable people's pockets, and " spu'ited away" their watches, handker-

ADDENDA. iio

cliiefs, pocket-books, or anything else that came In their way, and then bolt
into thlfe vaults again.

N-B. — These spirits conld swallow sjnriis, like those described in the
preceding pages.

Spirits of the old style used to delight in the darkness of night, but
sometimes they'd show their pale faces by moonlight. A "seaHce" is de-
scribed that took place by moonlight. I don't mean to assert that it was
all "moonshine." A table was placed in front of a window between the
curtains ; the " circle" round the table and the space between the curtains
was the stage where the performance took place. Query: How did the
mediums know, when they placed this table, that the spirits who " lent a
hand" in the perfoi-mance would act their play at that part of the table ?
By the by, the tahle plays an important part in these spirited pieces ; the
spirits surely would not be able to get on at all without a tahlo ! At
each "side of this stage, lit by the moon, and close to the window curtains,
which formed as it were the " proscenium," stood a gentleman, one on each
side, like two "prompters," one of whom was Mr. Home ; and when one
particular hand was thrust up above the rim of the table, and which hand
had a glove on, Mr. H. cried out, " Oh ! keep me from that hand ! it is so
cold ; do not let it touch me." Query : How did Mr. H. know that this
hand tvas so cold ? and had it put the glove on because it felt itself so
cold? And out of whose "atmosphere," or "life sphere" had the spirit
made this hand ? if it were so cold, it must have got the stuff through
some very cold-hearted "medium." Then comes my clothes test again, where
did the hand get the glove ? Suppose it was a spirit hand, the hand of a soul
that once did live on earth, could it be the sjnrit of a glove ? Whilst waiting
for an answer to these queries, I would suggest to these " mediums," that if
they see this " hand and glove" again, they should ask, " Who's your glover ?"
Yes, it would be important to obtain the name and address of such a glover,
as such gloves, we may suppose, would not wear out, nor require cleaning.

An old and valued friend of mine attended a seance in 1860, of
which he wrote a short account, and which he keeps (in manuscript) to
lend to his friends for their information and amusement, upon this subject ;
and although he confesses that, as a novice, he was rather startled upon one
or two occasions du.ring the evening, that the extraordinary proceeding of
the seance had something of a siq^er natural tinge about it ; nevertheless,
upon mature reflection he came to the conclusion that the whole was a very
cleverly-managed piece of trickery and imposture. As I am pennitted to
quote from this manuscript, I will here give a short extract to show the
reader how an American medium — a Dr. Bash — assisted by two other
"mediums," also Americans, managed the spirits upon that occasion. A
party of eight were seated round a table : —

" Shortly and anon, a change came o'er the spmt of the Doctor. He
jumped up and said, ' Hush ! I hear a spirit rapping at the door.'

" The Doctor told us there was a spirit which wished to joiai our seance
the door was opened, a chair was most politely placed at the table, and
there the spirit sat, but, like ' Banquo's ' Ghost, invisible to the compamj:'

In the Waterloo Road there resided— next door to each other — some

36 ADDENDA.

years back, two paperliangers, who vied with each other in doing " sten-
cilling"— that is, rubbing colour on walls through a cut out pattern*^, there
was great opposition between them, and one of them (No. 1) wrote on the
front of his house in large letters, " The Acme op Stencilling," upon which
No. 2, determined not to be outdone in this style, wrote upon the front of his
house in letters donhJc the size of his neighbour's, " Tnn Heigth of the
Acme of Stencilling." Now, I do not know whether this pretended intro-
dudion of an Invlslhle spirit, and putting a chair for thi.s Avorse than nothing
to sit in, when he had nothing to sit down upon, may be considered as the
heigth of the acme of unprincipled, impudent imposture ; but it goes far
enough to show that trickery can lie and is carried on, and carried on even as
a trade or " calling " in this " spirit-rapping " business, for I have seen a
printed card where ^.professional "medium" gives his name and address, and
has on it, " Circles for Spiritual Manifestation — hours from 12 to 3 and
5 to 10 P.M. ;" to which is added, " Private Parties and FamiUes visited."

If such a card as this had been introduced in " The Broad Grin Jest
Book," some years back, it would have been quite in place, but to think that
such a card as this should be circulated in this "age of intellect," as a
hiisiness card — the card of a " Maitre de Ceremonie" who undertakes to intro-
duce invisible sj)irits, into parties and iirivate families, is something more
than I ever expected to see, on the outside of Betlilem, or in the list of
impostures at a police station.

As this Dr. Dash pretended that spirits were "mixed up "' with this party
— were indeed suiTounding the " circle," and who had come into the room
loitJimd Icnocliing, and were not acxomraodated ivith chairs, why should this
ghost of nothing knock at the door, and how did the Dr. know that he
wished to join the seance, and why should this invisible Mr. Nobody have
a chair, and the other spirits be obliged to stand ? And then was this spirit
dressed in his best ? for as it was an evening party, ho ought to have been
" dressed with care."

The calling up of one spirit seems to call up or raise another spirit, and
as Dr. Dash introduced a dumb and invisible spirit who was supposed to
take his seat at a table, I take this opportunity of introducing a spirit of a
very different character — one of the old fashioned spirits — one that could
both be seen and heard, and who was seen to take his seat at the table, and
enter into conversation with his friends. An extract from the " Registry of
Brisley Church in 1706," runs thus : — A Mr. Grose went to see a Mr. Shaw,
and whilst these gentlemen were quietly smoking their pipes, in comes
(without " rapping") the ghost of their friend Mr. Naylor. They asked him
to sit down, which he did, and they conversed together for about two hours ;
he was asked how it fared with him, he replied, "Very well," and when he
seemed about to move, they asked him if he could not stay a little longer,
he replied that he " could not do so, for he had only three days' leave of
absence, and had other business to attend to."*

Now this is something like a ghost, whose visit you observe is recorded

* As, according to Mrs. Crowe, ghosts can smoke, and upon equally good authority,
spirits can swallow spirits, no doubt this ghost of Mr. Naylor, who did not come without
the help of his tailor, took a pipe with his friends, and took something to drink with them
also, for ycu may relj/ upon it, that the ghost's friends were not smoking a " drt/ pipe."

ADDENDA. 37

in the registry of a parish church, and as the party I believe were all clergy-
men, of course the Rev. Mr. Nay lor came in his clerical " habits as he lived,"
no doubt '■ dressed with care." Yes, this you see was a respectable sort of
ghost — one that you could see and listen to, not such a poor " dummy "
as Dr. Basil's poor spiritless spirit, Mr. IsTothing Nobody, Esq.,

Who could neither be seen nor heard,
Which even to name, seems quite absurd.

The reason for thus suddenly pretending to introduce a spirit, was to
produce an effect — a sensation — upon the nerves of the party assembled (par-
ticularly the novices), for it is only under excited nervous feelings that any-
thing like success can attend the operations of such "mediums."

The Creator has so formed us that our nerves are more excitable in dai-k-
nessthan in the light, and our senses thus excited, are for our safety and pro-
tection, when moving about in the dark, either in-doors or out, as we feel and
know, that there is a chance of our being seriously injured by running against
or falling over something, or that there might be evil spirits in the shape of
robbers lurking about, against whom it would be necessary to be ready to
defend ourselves, or to avoid. Our faculties being thus put on the " qui
vive," is natural, healthy, and j)roper ; but when the mind has been imbued
from childhood with a belief in ghosts, and the individual should happen to
be in a dark and lonely place, and should hear or see indistinctly something
which the mind on the instant is not able to account for, naturally, or com-
preheyid rationally, then under such circumstances, to use a common expres-
sion, " we are not ourselves," and in giving way to imaginary fears, under the
impression of supsimatural appearances, the stoutest hearts and the strongest
men, have been known " to quiver and to quail," to be confused and to feel
that thrilling sensation, that cold trickling down the back from head to heel,
which is produced from fright, and nothing but the rallying of their mental
and physical forces, and rousing up a determined resolution, has enabled
such men to overcome this coward-like fear, and to discover that they have
been scared by some natural sound, or some imperfectly-seen natural object,
that it was all " a false alarm," or perhaps a made up ghost, by some fool
or rogue, or both, who was playing his " tricks upon travellers."

But with weak and nervous persons, who believe in supernatural
appearances, the effects of fright, under such circumstances, produce the
most painful feelings, total prostration of the faculties, and sometimes
fatal consequences. Here is an instance where all the faculties were
prostrated by fright in consequence of seeing a supposed apparition, followed
by the death of an innocent person : —

In the year 1804, the inhabitants of Hammersmith, a village situated on
the west side of the metropolis, but now forming part of it, were much
terrified by the appeai'ance of, as it was said, a spectre clothed in a winding
sheet. This apparition made its appearance in the dark evenings in the
churchyard, and in several avenues about the place. I well remember " the
Hammersmith ghost," as it was called, being the " Town Talk " of that day,
and not only in Hammersmith, but even in town, many persons were afraid
to leave theu- homes after dusk. Besides a man of the name of John
Graham, who was detected, and I believe imprisoned, there were several

38 ADDENDA.

actors in this ghostly farce, which was however brought to an end in a
tragical manner — that is, by a young man of the name of Thomas Millwood,
a plasterer, being shot dead by one Francis Smith, an exciseman, who at the
time (as the narrator states) was rather " warm over his liquor " — that is
about half drunk ; and in this state he was allowed at the "White Hart "
public house to load a gun with shot, and go out for the purpose of dis-
covering the ghost, and he no sooner saw a figure in a light dress (which
was the poor plasterer in his u'ovTcing dress, on his road to fetch his wife
home, who had been at work all day at a house in the neighbourhood of
" Black Lion Lane," where this murder was committed) than he lost the use
of his faculties, and was in such a state of fright that, as he said in Ixis
defence, he " did not know what he was about," and imfortunately, under
these circumstances, killed an innocent man, which he never would have
done had he not been a believer in apparitions and ghosts.

In p. 46, of the " Victoria Magazine," the writer, in speaking of an
interview which Mr. Home had with the spirit of the Count Cagliostro,
states that the said sjolrit diffused and wafted over his friend Mr. H. the most
" delicious perfumes," and that they " appeared to have been a part of the
Count's personal resources ;" and argues for various reasons that these spirits
are " sensitive to sweet smells," and that the spirits ai'e " adepts in jjer-
fumery," " are fond of it," and surround themselves and their medium
" with exquisite odours." And as Mr. Home is such a great favourite
•with these "spirits," his "life sphere" and "atmosphere" must be
very highly scented and perfumed with smells, and this accounts at once
for the spirits playing " Home, svcct Home " upon the accordian, when he
holds it under the table with one hand, and they play upon it, I suppose,
with " their lioncls of atmosphere !" Be this as it may, however " sweet upon
themselves " they may be, these spirits arc at this moment in rery " had
odour " with a large body of the press, as also with the large body of the
public, and it therefore rests wuth the " mediums" to bring these " spirits of
darkness " into light, and that these supposed spirits, their mediums, and
their friends should 2>^(ico themselves in a right position before the public.
" Come out in the road " (as the low folk say when they are going to fight).
By the by, there surely must be (as they are all spirited fellows) some
" prizefighters " amongst these " rapping " spirits, and if so, I would suggest
that mediums, as "backers" and "bottle-holders" (pro\'ided they don't
have any "spirits" in then* bottle), should get up a "prizefight" as a
public exhibition, between such spirits as Jem Belcher and Tom Crib, or any
of those celebrated deceased popular heroes; and there would be this advantage
in such contests, that the "sporting world " Avould have all their favourite
sport, and be able to bet upon their favourites in these " sham-fights " with-
out the attendant horrible and disgusting brutahties of the real fights ; for
although they would, of course, " rap " each other, their ^^fs being only made
of " atmosphere,'" they could not hurt or disfigure each other as they do in
the earthly boxing. And if these aerial boxers did " knock the wind out "
of each other, it would bo of no consequence, for as they would be sur-
rounded with lots of their own kind of " life sphere," or "atmosphere," they
could soon " make themselves up " again, if even they did not " make it up "
with each other. But I see some difficulties in carrying out these " sports,"

ADDENDA. 39

wMcli did not occur to nie at first ; for instance, if they cannot make theii'
own thick heads out of the "atmosphere " of the heads about them, having
no heads then, how can they be "set by the ears?" Besides, they could
not hear when "time" was called, and then, again, the patrons of the
"Prize ring" would not be satisfied unless they could see these spirited
ghosts " knock each other's heads half ofi"."

If these spirits cannot " make head," and keep up with the intellectual pro-
gress of the spirit of the times, and with the spirit of the woi'ld. If they cannot
be a " body politic," or a body of spirits, or any other body, let the mediums
set their hands to work, "All hands, ahoy !" Let them lend a hand to any
" handiwork ;" " hand-looms," " or hand about the tea and bread and butter
at parties, or make themselves "handy" in any way, even if they were made
to use "hand-brooms." Yes ; let them put their hands to any honest call-
ing rather than keep their hands in idleness, for they should recollect what
Dr. Watts asserts —

" That Satan finds some mischief still
For idle hands to do."

And if these " spirit hands " are too flimsy and delicate to 7vork — to
do hard work — then let them jjZfX^ musical instruments, get up popular con-
certs, and as they can make perfumes, or are themselves perfumers, they
could thus whilst playing gratify their audiences with sweet sounds and sweet
scents at the same time.

However absurd this asserted fact of tables being moved by spirits may
appear, and to many persons appearing not worth a "second thought,"
yet it is natural that we should endeavour to account for such a movement
in a natural way, one cause assigned is natural heat, the other involuntary
muscular action, etc., etc. In this state of uncertainty a little '■'guess work"
about the table movement, may perhaps be excused, even if it be as absurd
as " table lifting " itself. We know that the common air, dry or moist,
affects all earthly materials, and that

The water and the air,

Are everywhere.

Changing, the flower and the stone.

The flesh and the bone.

And we also know that wood, being a very porous material, is powerfully
affected by the "broad and general casing air," that it expands or contracts
according to the condition of the atmosphere, and thus we find when there
is any considerable change in the temperature, that all the book-cases, ward-
robes, chests of drawers, clothes presses, tables, or " what-nots," in different
parts of the house, will indicate this change by a creakinc/, cracking noise.
I have in my studio an oaken cabinet, which acts under the influence of the
change of air, like a talking thermometer, and with which I sometimes hold a
sort of a " cahinet council" upon the subject of the change of weather.
When seated in my room, with doors, and windows, and shutters shut, if it
has been dry weather for any length of time, and my cabinet begins creaking,
I know by this sotind from the wood, that the warm moist air, which has been
wafted with the warm ^a^lf stream from the West Indies, is diffusing itself

40 ADDENDA.

around the room, and producing an effect upon me and my furniture, even
to the fire-irons and fender, and so, on the contrary, after Avet or moist
weather, if the creaking is heard again, I know pretty well " which way the
wind blows," and that it is a dry wind, without looking out at the weather vane.
If ifc merely goes oxak, creak, crack, and stops there, the change will not be
great, but when it goes cre-ak, cre-ak, creak, crack, crack, crach — rwiible,
rumble, ricnihle, creak, crack ! then do I know, and find, that the cliange will
be considerable, and can spell out, change — rain — rain — rain, much rain.

Many persons who have given any thought to this question, are of opinion
that electric currents passing from the human body is the cause of this " table-
moving," and I introduce my "weather wise " cabinet to the public here to
show, that if a little damp air, or a little dry air will move, and make a large
heavy cabinet talk in this way, how much more likely it is that a table should
be moved, and particularly if these " electric currents " fly " like lightning"
through the passages or spiracles of this popular, but at present mysterious
piece of furniture.

No wonder then if the " life sphere " and " the atmosphere " of the " light-
headed," "light-heeled," who '''■ p)crraea.te their vjills" into this otherwise
inanimate object, should all of a sudden " set the table in a roar," and "rap
out their rappartees," and that " the head of the table " should bob up and
down, so as to make the people stare, either standing around or stuck in a
chair, and that the legs all so clumsy, should caper and dance and kick up in
the air, to the tune of " Well did yoii ever !" and "Well I declare !" .' .' .'

This cabinet of mine is filled with the spirited works of departed spirits,
including some of my dear father's humorous works, also of the great Hogarth,
the great Gilray, and other masters, ancient and modem ; the mediums
would, I suppose, say —

That when this cabinet begins a " crack "* or creaking,
It is these sprites of art, who thus to me are speaking.

And as one of the panels was split some years back, the mediums would
perhaps suggest that these " droll spirits " made the cabinet " split its
sides with laughter," but I know it was the hot air of a hot summer, and
certainly not done by a drum or a drummer — that this " splitting " or
" flying," only shows the force of the common, air, and I hope adds to the
force of my argument in this respect, and further, of this I feel assured, that
if I were to " clear the decks for action," bring this cabinet out into the
middle of my studio, and could induce some of the lady and gentlemen
"mediums" to come and form a "circle," and clap their hands on and
around this piece of furniture, that, although Monsieur Cabinet has no " light
fantastic toe," that he would nevertheless join in the merry dance, and cut
some curious capers on his castors, and even "beat time " perhaps with his
curious creaks and cracks. By the by, glass being a non-conductor, a table
made o? glass, would at once settle this question, as to whether the tables are
moved by electric currents or not.

I am now about to suggest what I feel assured every one will admit to be

' a GRAND IDEA, and which would be to make these spirits useful in a way that

would be highly appreciated and patronized by the public, and put all the

* Scotch for talking.

ADDENDA. 41

"fortune-tellers" and " rulers of the stars " out of the field altogether, and
perhaps even damage the " electric wires " a little. It is to establish a cona-
panj, to be entitled, " The Human Question and Spirit Answer Company!''
The principal " capital" to work upon, would be the overpowering principle of
curiosity; in this case, instead of having a "c/ifHr-man," they would, I
suppose, have a to&?e-man ; if so, then Homo would be the man, and of this
compan}'' it never could be said, that they had 7iot a rap at their bankers.

"Limited," of course, but the business would be vn-limited, with profits,
corresponding ; branch question and answer offices, branching out all
over the globe, with "letter-boxes" and "chatter-boxes". If the busi-
ness of such offices were worked and carried out m a ^^ proper spirit,'" it
would assuredly be " a success." I am supposing, of course, that these
spirits will be able to " tell us something we don't know," for up to the
present time it does not appear that they have told anything to us that we
could not have told them, and in a more common sense and grammatical
style than most of the communications which they have " rapped out," but
if there are any real, great, and good spirits amongst these gammocking
table- turners, they must, one would suppose, know all about everything and
everybody, and everybody would be asking questions, and if so, " Oh, my !"
what a lot of funny questions there would be ! and what a lot of funn}--
answers ! (all "private and confiderdiaJ," of course) as nobody would be sure
not to tell nobody any secrets that nobody wanted anybody to know.

Under ordinary circumstances I am not at all what might be called a
curious person, but although I should (like other people) like to know how
certain matters might turn out, and although I should never think of asking
a " fortune-teller" or of consulting the gentry who profess to " rule the
stars," yet if such a company as this were started, I feel that I should be
compelled to start ofi" to the first office I could get to, for the purpose of
putting two or three questions, to which I want immediate answers if it
were possible, and should not mind paying something extra for favourable
answers. I will here just give a specimen of some of these questions.

Some literary gentleman and others belonging to the "Urban Club,"
and also some members of the " Dramatic Authors' " Society, have formed
themselves in a committee (upon which they have done me the honour to
place my name), for the purpose of setting on foot and assisting to raise a
fund, if possible, to erect a monument in honour of William Shakspeare,
US the 23rd of April, 1864, will be the ter-centenary of that poet's birth-
day. Another committee for the same purpose is also in formation, and
the two committees will either amalgamate or work together. I have
suo-o^ested to the fii-st committee that in order to assist the funds for the
above-mentioned purpose, that a notice be sent out to the public to this
effect — that all persons having, any works of art, either paintings, drawings,
or sculpture, should be invited and respectfully requested to lend such works
to a committee of artists, to form a gallery or national collection illustrating
this author's works, to be called " The Shakspeare Exhibition," and in
which designs for the said monument could also be exhibited. The ques-
tion, therefore, I would put to the spirits through the proper mediura would
be this, viz. — If such invitations were sent out, would the holders of such
works lend them for the purpose of thus being placed before the public ?

adde:^da.

And farther— If the' Government were applied to, would they " lend the
loan" of a proper and fitting building to exhibit the various works in ? And
a little further, and " though last not least," would the nobility and gentry,
and the public at large, patronize such an exhibition largely, and what the
receipts would amount to ? I should like to have all this answered, and
that at an early day. But as it may be a lonrf day, before such a company
could get into working order, and as the members of the public press are
a good-natured, shrewd class of spirits— if the idea is worth anything, they
would most likely take it up, and I should be as much pleased to get an
answer through that medivm as any other that I know of.

There are several other questions which I should put to this " Spirit
Answer Company" if it were started, and which I feel that I could not well
put to any one else, as I do not think that «»// hodij would give themselves
the trouble to give me an answer ; and it is not evenj hodij who conld give
me satisfactory answers, however much they might feel disposed to do so. I
enumerate two or three.

Firstly — After a di-eadful railway accident which occurred the other
day, Lord Brougham in the House of Lords suggested, I believe, that an
act of Parliament should be passed compelling the piihlic to travel at a
rational speed ; and as civil engineers declare that if the public would be
content to do so, that it would decrease the risk of life to about 909 per
cent., I want to know if the puUio are ever likely to adopt the moderate
speed, or sort of safe and sure, mode of travelling by rail, instead oi flyinr/
along at such a risk of life and limb as they do now, occasionally coming to
a drcadfid smash, with an awful unnecessary sacrifice of life, picking up
the bodies or the pieces thereof, crying out "All right, go a-head," and
dashing off at the same irrational speed A\-itli the probability of the like
accidents again ?

Secondly — If it is at all likely that " lovely woman" -will ever leave off'
wearing dresses which constantly expose her to the risk of being burnt
to death ?

Upon looking, however, at some of the other questions, they appear so
frivolous and ridiculous, that I do not think I would put them even to these
spirits. For instance, one was, that supposing I took a part in one of
Shakspeare's plays, for the purpose of assisting this proposed Shakspearian
fund, and for some other purposes, if, as I can draw a little, should I, under
such circumstances, draw a full house ?

There is a common saying amongst schoolboys, that " If all ifs were lads,
and all liads were Shads, we never should be in want of fish for supper."
Now the if, in this spirit question, is an important //', for if all he tnic, that is
asserted by the " mediums" of the marvels which they publish, then are those
marvels some of the most marvellous and astounding wonders that have
ever been known or heard of in the anthentic history of the world. And
from the extent to which this belief has spread, and is still spreading, and
also from the injurious eifects it has already produced, and is likely still
further to produce, on the mental and physical condition of a large number
of the people, it now becomes rather, indeed, I may say, a very serious ques-
tion. Some of the effects produced by attending the soirees of these " good,
bad, and indiff'erent" spirits, will be seen from the reasons stated by a staunch

ADDENDA. 43

supporter of tliese supernatural pastimes for giving up — in fact, being com-
pelled to give up — seances, " because, in tlie first place (be states), it was too
exJiausfing to tbe vital fluids of tlie mediixm. (They " took too long a pull,
or swallowed too much of his atmosphere.") And also " because the
necessity of keeping the mind elevated to a higher state of contemplation,
while we were repeating the alphabet and receiving messages letter by letter,
was too great a strain upon oui* faculties ; and because the undeveloped and
earth-bound spirits throng about the mediums, and struggle to enter into
parley with them, apparently with the purpose of getting possession of their
natures, or exchanging natures ; and I have heard of sittings terminating
from this cause in cases of paralysis or demoxaical pos.session."

In such a state, no doubt the jDOor creatures imagine that they see
apparitions. I had an old friend who was affected with paralysis of the
brain, but not from this cause, as he was a total and decided disbeliever in
apparitions ; but from the diseased condition of his brain he had the appear-
ance of a person or ghost constantly by his side for a considerable time, at
which he used to laugh, and which I wanted him to introduce to me ; but to
me it was always invisible. One day at dinner he stood up, and said to those
present, "Don't you see I'm going?" and fell down — dead !

Although there is much to laugh at with respect to these modern spirits,
although some of the scenes at the seances are perfectly ridiculous — and
would have afforded capital subjects for the powerful pen of my dear deceased
friend, " Thomas Ingoldsby'" — the "raps" rapped out sometimes are positive
nonsense and sometimes positive falsehood; and "evil communications,"
which all who have been to school know, " corrupt good manners," yet, on
the other hand, there are serious symptoms sometimes attended with serious
consequences.

The mediums tell us that these spiritual manifestations arc permitted by
the " Omnipotent ;" that Jesus Christ sanctions some of these spiritual
communications, and are indeed given us as if proceeding from Himself;
and yet we find that some persons whq attend these "seances" have their
nervous system so shaken as to distort their limbs, in fact, lose the use of
their limbs altogether, or are " driven raving mad !"

In " The Light in the Valley," a work which I consider ought to be
entitled "Darkness in the Valley," but which I must do the author the
justice to say is written and edited in what is evidently intended as a pro-
found, proper, and religious spirit, and with a good intent ; but however
sincere and honest those pious feelings may be, they are nevertheless distorted
religious opinions, containing symbolical ideas as dark as any symbolical
emanations ever given forth in the darkest ages.

In this work specimens are given of '•'■spirit 'writimf and " spirit draiviut/.''
The " spirit -wTiting" consists of unmeaning, unintelligible scribbling scrawls,
and very rarely containing any letters or words. These productions are
ascribed to a " spirit liand,'' seizing and guiding the medium's hand, but which
is nothing more than involuntary action of the muscles under an excited
and unnatural state of the nervous system; and the spirit drawings are
executed under similar conditions. The drawings profess to be designed
and conjointly executed in this way, by holy spirits or angels, and are given
as sacred guidances to man. These are the medium's opinions and belief;

44 ADDENDA.

but, unfortunately, too many of these sort of drawings may be seen in
certain asylums. But if I know anything of religion, which I have been
looking at carefully and critically for half a century ; also if I know anything
of designing and drawing, in which profession I have been working in my
humble way for more than that time, I pronounce these spirit drawings
(in the language of art) to be " out of drawing," and contrar}- to all healthy
emanations of thought as design and composition ; and instead of repre-
senting subjects or figures which would convey a proper and gi*eat idea of
Divine attributes, are, in fact, caricatures of such sacred subjects.

I shall here give a few extracts from the communication of these false
spirits, and spiritual explanations of these spirit scrawls and scratches ; but
some which I had intended to insert, upon reflection, I refrain from giving,
believing that they would not only be offensive to sensible religious persons,
but injurious to youthful minds. Some of the illustrations given in this book
are furnished by a " drawing medium," under the titles of " Christ without
Hands," " the Bearded Christ," "Christ among the Sphere," "the Woman
Crucified," etc., etc. In the first of these something like a figure is scribbled
in, and surrounded with scratches, called spirit writing ; the " Bearded Christ"
is merely a bust, very badly drawn, and produced in the same unnatural way,
and suiTounded by the same sort of scribbling. The s/atjye of the beard and
the atmosphere of the beard are, it appears, most important matters ; and
the author, in speaking of this, says, in describing Him, " In ' the Bearded
Christ' the atmosphere of the beard, as well as the beard itself, is repre-
sented ; and I am acquainted with a ' seeing medium,' who has seen the
beard-atmosphere, not only when the beard is worn, but about the shaven
chin, with sufiicient precision to decide of what shape the beard would be
were it allowed to grow" ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

The subject professing to represent " Christ among the Spheres" is a
better and more finished drawing ; but, according to all the laws and rules
of proportion, the figure of Christ, by the side of our globe, would be
30,000 miles in height, and a lily which he holds in his hand 15,000 miles
long ! All these gross absm-dities show, that the real spirit has nothing
whatever to do with such absurd doctrines or productions. This " drawing
medium" gives an account of the trials and sufferings, bodily and mental,
which she went through before she became an accomplished and complete
medium ; and, according to her owti statement, she must have gone through
a most fearful and horrible schooling. In one part it is stated she went
through " several months of most painful beivilderment and extreme distress of
'iiiiiul " and in another part she says that the intensest antagonism between
TRUTH and FALSEHOOD, between light and darkness, encounters the astounded
and unprepared pilgrim upon his first entrance into the realm of spirit.
" I felt frequently as if enveloped in an atmosphere which sent through
my whole frame warm streams of electincity in waving spirals from the
crown of my head to the soles of my feet ; and occasionally, generally at
midnight, I was seized with twitchiugs and convulsive movements of my
whole body, which were distressing beyond words. All these symptoms at
length came to a crisis in a frightful trance." And this drawing medium
signs herself " Comfort !" and fui-ther states that —

" Waking in the night, the strange drawing process instantly commenced,

ADDENDA.

45

and I felt and saw within me tlie figure of an angel, whose countenance
resembled that of Christ, descending from a morning sky towards me, and
bearing upon his shoulders a large cross, whilst from his lips proceeded these
words — ' Love, merc}^, peace, but not till after death.' Again my soul
trembled nolth anguish, for that strange portentous word, ' death,' was ever
written within me or without. This peculiar stage of development soon
produced a singular affection of my throat, an affection of the mucous
membrane, which caused several times a day, and especially when rising in
tlic morning, the most distressing sensations. After suffering thus for several
days, the mysterious writing informed me that I must take a certain quantity
of port wine every day, and then the sensation would leave me." And she
adds, "I followed the spiritual direction, and found almost immediate relief."
The spirit doctor, in fact, after the dreadful suffering the scholar had
gone through, prescribed a " drop of comfort," a drop of the spirit of
Alcohol, which spirit is very much like these rapping spirits, deceitful and
dangero7is, and this, we may presume, is the reason why the medicine adopted
the name of "comfort." Well, some people will say that some little comfort
was needed after so much cJiscomfort and suffering — but ichj, all this suffer-
ing ? Cannot these spirit drawing-masters instruct their pupils in this poor,
wretched, miserable style of drawing, without all this misery and punishment?
If not, I should think that very few ladies or gentlemen would like to take
lessons in drawing, or, indeed, in any other art, under such painful circum-
stances. A sjririt drawing- master's card would, I presume, be something
like the following: : —

TOM PAIN",

^rabiug lllasf^i'.

MEDIUM SPIEIT DEAWINa TAUGHT, UNDER EXTEEME TOEXUEE,

IX TWENTr-FOUE LE3S0XS, AT SO MUCH ILL-HEALTH

AND SUFFEEINa PER LESSON.

N.B. — Private Residence, undee the Table.

%* All the Drawing and Writing llatenah to be provided by the
Pupils. The lashing supplied by the Spirit, aud the Medical Advice Gratis ;
but the Pupils to find the " drop of spirit comfort " themselves.

In taking one more extract from " Comfort," I hope that I am not giving
any discomfort to that "medium," who, from my «imost heart I hope and
trust, is NOW enjoying that rational and natural comfort which all well-wishers
to their fellow-creatures wish strangers to feel, as well as their friends. The
medium proceeds to say : — " Ignorance of their real nature and of their
alternate purposes in the progress of civilization and development of mind,
has already caused immense misery in many directions, and will cause more
and more, even infinitely worse, until the time arrives that the medical
world will follow the example of Dr. Garth Wilkinson in his valuable
pamphlet on the treatment of lunacy through spiritualism, and calmly regard
this growing development not as insanity, but as a Tcey luhereiy to unloch
insanity " ! ! !

I have not the slightest notion of what this pamphlet contains, but from
the above very -it^jcomfortable opinion expressed by " Comfort" upon this

46 ADDENDA.

matter, it seems to me that a siifficient " key^'' -is here given to unlock, if not
all, at all events, the greatei' part of the mysteries of this uplrit drawing and
spirit writinrf, and, indeed, the whole of this spirit movement.

I would here call the attention of the medical world to the way in which
the spirits are acting- towards that body. I presume that they are the spirits
of deceased members of the profession ; and if so they are acting in a
most unbrotherly, underhanded manner, iu fact, undermining the pro-
fession altogether by "rapping" out prescriptions from under the fable, for
which they do not take a "rap" as a fee. Yes, " advice gratis" for nothing.
I entreat medical men not to smile at my remarks, for they may be
assured that there is a dark conspiracy — I cannot say "afoot," because
spirits have no feet — but I may say in hand ; and as matters stand at present,
it looks as if " The D. without the M., and Dr. Faustds" had entered into a
partnership to destroy all medical doctors by introducing a system which
they could not only not practise, but, as far as I am able to judge, could
never understand, and which, though it is given in the " Light in the Valley,"
"reacZ"they may, and ^^ raarlc" they may, ^'harn" they cannot, and "in-
wardly digest" they never will.

In the concluding pages of the " Light in the Valley," a letter is intro-
duced, Avhich is evidently -w-ritten by a highly-educated person, in support of
" an occult law,"' and from all that is stated in this letter the writer
might as well have said at once, I believe in witchcraft, or that craft
which enables an ignorant old woman, who is called a "witch," to
make contracts with the Evil One, for the pui-pose of torturing, or
making miserable for life, or desti'oying unto death, her neighbours, their
children, or their cabtle ; and that an ignorant old man, under the name of a
"wizard," may do the same; also, in astrology, or "ruling the stars," to
predict coming events, or the future fate of individuals born at particular
periods of the year, according to the position of the stars at that time ; or in
" fortune- telling," performed either by " crossing the hand" with a piece of
money, got out of some simpleton's pocket for that purpose, but which never
gets back there again ; or by bits of paper, called " cards ;" to which also may
be added, as a matter of course, I believe in ghosts, hobgoblins, and in every-
thing of a supernatural character.

We can readily understand why the ignorant and uneducated believe in
all these matters ; the cause is traced and known ; but it seems almost
impossible to believe that educated persons, even with a small amount
of reflection, can put their faith in such superstitious delusions ; and if the
question is put to such persons, as "show us any good" I'esulting in the
existence of an " occult law," we may safely defy any one to show oiie
instance, loMrc any good has ever resulted from such a helief in what they
term the deep " arcana of Nature's book," or rather unnatural nonsense.
Whereas, on the other hand, the amount of evil arising from this source
has been fearfully great, and the murders many ; dragging poor old creatures
through ponds, and hanging them, and even torturing them to death in a way
too disgusting to describe. Our own records are, unfortunately, too massive
of such ignorant and savage atrocities ; but not only were such deeds enacted
in this (at that time) so misnamed Christian land, but also in other countries
denominated Christian ; but which title their brutal acts gave them, like our-

6fe~

ADDENDA. 47

selves, no right to assume ; not only in Europe, but also in America. In that
country, about the year 1642, many poor old women were persecuted to
death. One woman was hung at Salem for bewitching four children, and
the eldest daughter afterwards confessed to the tricks that she and her
sisters had played in pretending to be " bewitched."

But in our own time we find that this belief in the power of foretelling
events leads to much mischief and misery, and from certain facts we may be
assured that there is a larger amount of evil from this cause than is made
known to the public. The " occult law" leads to many breaches of the law
of the land, and to serious crime ; it opens the door to gross imposture,
swindling, and robbery, misleading the minds of simple people, and turning
their conduct and ways from their proper and natural course, and the
strange unaccountable conduct of some persons might be easily accounted for,
when traced to this "fortune-telling" foolery. The happiness of one family
was desti'oyed only the other day by a deaf and dumb "ruler of the stars,"
who is now in penal servitude, and who would have been executed had the
oifence been committed some years back. Several such "rulers of the
stars," or "fortune-tellers," have been hung for similar crimes, in my time,
one I remember was a black man, hung at the Old Bailey.

The clothes test cannot be brought to bear upon the predicting of events,
but there is a test, which may be brought with equal force upon this question,
which is, that although these prophets profess to teU what is going to
happen to others, they cannot foeetell what is going to happen to them-
selves, for if they could, they would have, of course, avoided the punish-
ments which the law has, and is constantly inflicting upon them for their
offences. And Mr. " Zadkiel," for instance, would not have brought his
action against Admiral Sir Edward Belcher, if he could have foi-eseen the
result ; after which, no doubt, he cried out, " Oh ! my stars !— if I had known
as much as I know now, I never would have gone into court !"

A "Bow Street officer" (as a branch of the old police were styled) told
me that he had a warrant to take up a female fortune-teller, who was pluck-
ing the geese to a large amount. Her principal dupes were females, and he
being a gander had some difficulty in. managing to get an introduction (for
this tribe of swindlers use as much caution as they can). He however
succeeded in getting the wise woman to tell him his fortune, for which he
professed himself much obliged, and told her that as he had a little faculty
in that way himself, he would in return, tell her, her fortune, which was,
that she was that morning going before the magistrate at Bow Street,
who had some power in this way also, and ho would likewise tell her her
fortune. She smiled at first and would not believe in what he said, but he
showed her the warrant, and all came true that he had told her ; but
nothing came ime of what she had told him.

Erom the high and pure character of many persons well known to me,
who are mixed up in these seances, it is ahnost impossible not to believe
their statements of these wonders, the truth of which wonders they so
positively assert. If true, they are indeed wonderful ; but if trichs, then do
they surpass all other tricks, ever performed by all the " sleight of hand"
gentry put together, who ever bamboozled poor credulous, simple creatures,
or astonished and puzzled a delighted audience.

>

48 ADDENDA.

There can be but two sides to a question, true or false ; and, as already
liinted, it remains for the mediums to prove their case, and to place the
matter in a better light than it stands at present, which is indeed a very dim
and uncertain sort of "night light ;" but as, up to this time, their assertions
are at variance with what has hitherto been considered as sound sense and
understanding, those outside the *' circle" have not only a right, to be cautious
of stepping into such a circle, but, until some more, reasonable reasons are
given — even putting aside the cui. bono for the present — unless some rational
natural cause can be assigned, they have a right to suspect the whole, either
as a Delusion or a Disease.

But even if this -party prove, that these "thing-em bobs" are real spii'its,
they appear to be so dreadful and dangerous, and there really is such a
" strong family likeness" between some of them, and a certain " Old Gentle-
man" that I would say " the less they have to do with them the better ;"
but even supposing they are not " so black as they are painted " (by their
mediums), if even they are a soi-t of " half-and-half," nevertheless, I
would say —

" Rest, rest, perturbed spirits rest ;"
For if not for you, for us 'twill be the best.

There may bo, as already observed, more things lettceen heaven and
earth than were dreamt of in the philosophy of Horatio ; but let the
"inquiring spirit" rest assured that amongst these "things" there could not
be included the Ghost of Iron Armour ; and though 'tis said " there's
nothing like leather," yet none of these said " things" could have been the
LEATHER of " Top-BOOTs"— no, not cvcu the LEATHER of the " tops" nor the
LEATHER of the " soLEs" thereof.

In concluding, I will just add to this Addenda, that, —

Although I have seen, (in the " mirage," in the sky)
A ship " upside down," the great hull and big sails,

Xo one, has ever yet seen, such things, as the Ghosts,
Of Hats or Wigs, or of short, or long Pig — tails.

And this is the " long and the short" of my

DISCOVERY CONCERNING GHOSTS,
with

A RAP AT THE BAPPEES.

THE END.

QIBBIID, PSIKTBB, LOSDO"*.

TO BE PUBLISHED BEFOTJE CHRISTMAS

PUSS IN BOOTS,

TO roEM No. 4 or

GEOEGE CRUIKSHANK'S FAIRY LIBRARY.

The other Numbers ah'eady Published being

HOP O'^MY THUMB,
JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK,

AND

CINDERELLA.

ALSO, PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION,

THE ADVENTURES OF MR. LAMBKIN;

OE, THE BACHELOR'S OWN BOOK.

NOW ON SALE,

THE SHILLING EDITION OF

THE BOTTLE.

THE LOVING BALLAD OF LORD BATEMAN.

COMIC ALPHABET.

ILLUSTRATIONS OF SIR WALTER SCOTT'S
DEMONOLOGY AND WITCHCRAFT.